Veteran Malayalam actress Kaviyoor Ponnamma passes away

Kaviyoor Ponnamma, the legendary actress who is best known for her performances in Malayalam cinema, passed away. The 79-year-old breathed her last at a private hospital in Kochi.

Kaviyoor Ponnamma

Kaviyoor Ponnamma, the legendary actress who is best known for her performances in Malayalam cinema, passed away. As per the reports, the senior actress was admitted to a private hospital in Kochi for over a month. The Kireedam actress breathed her last today evening (September 20, 2024), after a prolonged battle with cancer. Kaviyoor Ponnamma was married to producer KK Maniswami, who passed away in 2011. She is survived by daughter Bindu.

Kaviyoor Ponnamma: Debut, film career, and more

The legendary actress, who was active in the film industry for over six decades, was well-known for her portrayals of mother roles. Kaviyoor Ponnamma was born on January 4, 1944, as TP Damodaran and Gauri Amma's eldest daughter in Kaviyoor village of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. Her younger sister, Kaviyoor Renuka, was also a notable actress. She started learning Carnatic classical music at the age of five. Later, Ponnamma made her acting debut with stage drama at the age of 14, with the celebrated play Mooladhanam, directed by legend Thoppil Bhasi.

Kaviyoor Ponnamma made her movie debut within a year, with the popular film Sree Rama Pattabhishekam, in which she played the role of Raavana’s wife Mandodari. Interestingly, the veteran actress was offered mother roles even when she was merely a teenager. Ponnamma played the onscreen mother of a leading man for the first time in Kudumbini, the 1964-released film. Later, the legendary artist established herself as the ideal face of quintessential loving Malayali mothers, on the silver screen.

The legendary actress is also well-known for the extraordinary camaraderie she shared with all her co-stars, right from Prem Nazir to Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Prithviraj Sukumaran.  However, it is her impeccable onscreen and off-screen rapport with Mohanlal, that made them the iconic onscreen mother-son duo of Malayalam cinema. Ponnamma played the superstar’s mother in over 50 films. Kaviyoor Ponnamma’s heartbreaking performance as the helpless mother of Balan Mash, played by Mammootty in Thaniyavarthanam, is also remembered by all Malayalam cinephiles.

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