KPAC Lalitha: A versatile actor who could bring to life any role leaves a void that cannot be filled

“Though I called her chechi, in my mind she was always like a mother,” wrote Malayalam star Manju Warrier on her social media post, soon after KPAC Lalitha, 74, succumbed to liver-related ailments on the night of February 22, 2022. Her post would have echoed the sentiments of several generations of actors in Malayalam who have had the fortune of performing alongside Lalitha, who began her film career in 1969 with a role in KS Sethumadhavan’s film adaptation of the play Koottukudumbam.

For Lalitha, the character was a seamless transition from stage to silver screen. She had essayed the part during her days in theatre with the seminal theatre movement, Kerala People’s Art Club (KPAC) that would forever be attached to her name.

Born Maheshwari Amma to photographer K Ananthan Nair and Bhargaviamma, she had found an inclination towards arts right from her childhood. She dropped out of school at the age of 12 to pursue her interest in dance. In fact, she would later go on to joke that it’s because she didn’t do well in studies, she got to do what she enjoyed the most – performing as an actor on stage and then in films.

She began her stage career with the play Bali for Geetha Arts Club and later was part of Prathibha Arts Troupe and eventually joined KPAC, where she was part of plays such as Mooladhanam, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Ningalenne Communistaaki and Swayamvaram. Playwright Thoppil Bhasi then rechristened her Lalitha.

It was also her experience in theatre that lent a dramatic flair to all her roles; she could perform even without being present. In Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Mathilukal, the viewers never get to see her character Narayani, and yet her voice is the driving force of the movie around which the protagonist’s emotions evolve.

In a career spanning over 550 films, Lalitha has played a plethora of remarkable roles in movies such as Amaram, Shantham, Manichithrathazhu, Godfather, Vietnam Colony, Pavithram and Aniyathipravu. Her combinations with similar acting powerhouses such as Nedumudi Venu, who passed away last year, and Innocent were memorable, hugely due to the versatility that they brought to their roles – never once arguably repeating the same performance. Innocent said that while performing with Lalitha, he was always sure that the scene would be better because she had the innate ability to transform into the characters the filmmakers had written, keeping only her in mind. "There was and will be no one in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi cinema like her. She was that good," said Innocent.

Even though she was constantly cast in the role of the protagonist’s mother, sister or sister-in-law, Lalitha brought her unique spin to these characters as is evident from her two National Awards and four Kerala State Film Awards for her supporting roles.

The last of her State Awards was for Snehaveedu, which was directed by Sathyan Anthikad, a filmmaker who made the best use of Lalitha’s appeal towards the family audience. From Aduthaduthu, TP Balagopalan MA, Sandesham and Gandhinagar 2nd Street to Kochu Kochu Santoshangal and Njan Prakashan, their collaborations saw Lalitha at her humorous best while adding the layered sentiments. In fact, after her husband and legendary filmmaker Bharathan had passed away, she took a break for a few months and returned to acting with Anthikad’s Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal. 

Though her light-hearted roles in mainstream commercial cinema still stay etched in the memory, it’s her poignant roles as Bhargavi and a grief-stricken Narayani in Bharathan’s Amaram and Jayaraj’s Shantham, respectively, that won her her two National awards. This is also testament to Lalitha's versatility, where she was able to straddle roles in both mainstream and parallel cinema, with roles in movies such as Adoor's Swayamvaram and Kodiyettam. Bharathan was probably the director who best explored her range as an actor through films such as Keli, Nidra, Venkalam and Amaram.

Lalitha’s magic though was not limited to Malayalam, greats like Mani Ratnam had repeatedly worked with her Tamil in Alaipayuthey and Kaatru Veliyidai, five years ago.

While ailments in the past few years have kept her from signing a lot of movies, she was still active – acting whenever she could. Lalitha, who was last seen in Indrans’ Home, is also part of three upcoming films – Mammootty’s Bheeshma Parvam, Navya Nair’s Oruthee and Soubin Shahir’s Djinn, which is directed by her son Siddharth.

Even as her news have come as a shock for the industry and generations of actors and directors who have worked with her, her Oruthee co-star Navya Nair’s words summarise Lalitha’s love for performance, which began at the tender age of 10 and lasted till 74: “I want to act till I die, I should never have to sit home idle – that was her wish and that’s what happened.”