Sri Vidhya passes away

Veteran south Indian actress Sri Vidhya passed away at a hospital in Kerala on Thursday. Sri Vidhya was diagnosed with advanced stage of cancer and was under intensive medical supervision at Sri Avittam Thirunal hospital, Tiruvandrum.

The once sought-after heroine of Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam industry, Sri Vidhya had acted in several hundred movies since early 1970s and had won several awards and accolades.

It may be recalled that she was recently rushed to a hospital while she fell ill while shooting for the Malayalam serial Amma Thampurati. She was given intensive medical treatment.

Shot to fame playing powerful female roles in veteran director K Balachander's films, her films like Apoorva Ragangal won her greater appreciation. After playing heroine for over a decade, she settled to do character roles.

She paired with the likes of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in the early stages of her career. Later, she even played their mother in few movies.

Films like Poonagai Mannan, Thalapathy, Aboorva Sagodharargal, and Kadhalukku Mariyadhai were blockbusters. She last acted in Tamil in London starring Prashanth in the lead role in 2005.

Daughter of popular classical singer M L Vasantha Kumari, Sri Vidhya had sung the number Sandai Bajarau in Amaran set to tunes by Adhithyan.

It is a double tragedy in Kollywood for veteran actress Padmini passed away just a couple of weeks ago.