Maheshwari Amma, well known by her stage name KPAC Lalitha, has acted in over 550 films in Malayalam. Born in Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, in 1947, she began her acting career at the age of 16 as a stage actor in the theatre group Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC). Though she had acted in a play ‘Geethayude Bali’ prior to joining this group, she excelled in her career via KPAC. Later, she took up the name Lalitha and added the tag KPAC to it, to distinguish from her namesake in the industry.

Her first Malayalam movie was a film adaptation of ‘Koottukudumbam’ directed by K S Sethumadhavan. Married to the notable director Bharathan in 1978, she took a break from films for a while, only to smash with a comeback through ‘Kattathe Kilikoodu’ (a movie of her husband’s direction).

The iconic pairing of KPAC Lalitha and Innocent and their comedic acting together has led to many successful films such as Gajakesariyogam, Apoorvam Chilar, Makkal Mahathmyam, Shubha Yatra, My Dear Muthachan along with many others.

For her pre-eminence in the industry, the actor has won four Kerala state film awards (1975, 1978, 1990, 1991) and two national film awards as the best-supporting actress (1991, 2001). She has also won the Lifetime Achievement award during the 2009 Filmfare south awards.

She has also acted in Tamil films such as Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Maniratnam’s Alaipayuthey (2000) and Kaatru Veliyidai (2017).

She was holding the position of Chairperson of the Kerala Lalithakala Academy. Her autobiography titled ‘Katha Thudarum’ (Story to be continued) won the Cherukad award in 2013. ‘Home’ and ‘Mohan Kumar Fans’ are her latest released films (2021).

She is survived by son Sidharth and daughter Sreekutty Bharathan. Sidharth Bharatan is a director, actor and scriptwriter in Malayalam cinema.