Malayalam film and Television industries can be proud of their two mighty mothers on their big and small screens.They are Kaviyoor Ponnamma and K.P.A.C.Lalitha.Of the two,the former is a couple of years older than the latter.While Ponnamma is the incarnation of absolute maternal love and softness,Lalitha has quite often been an uncompromising and chiding mother,with a simultaneous course of undemanding, maternal love.
Born as Maheshwari Amma,Lalitha became her stage name,along with KPAC,'a theatre collective in Kayamkulam'.Today,this exemplary mother actor is no more,causing an extreme anguish for one and all,who love cinema in general and Malayalam movies in particular.
Lalitha has adorned mother and grand mother roles in a number of films,besides donning the roles of an academic head and Mother supreme in a few movies.It was a great pleasure to watch her teamed up with Innocent,in films like 'Paappi Appacha'and 'Life is beautiful',to mention significantly. Carrying on her periodical bickerings with Innocent in those films,she became the most natural wife of a loving husband and created a neighbourhood-woman feeling.
As the lovely mother of Mohanlal in Spadikam and Madampi{of the many films she had acted with the all rounder Mohanlal} Mammootty in The King & the King and the Commissioner,and Suresh Gopi in Nariman,she became emotionally close to the audience with her grumbling tone and graceful portrayal of mother roles.
Lalitha had appeared in compact roles in Tamil films also.Kadhalukku Mariyaadhai, Alai Paayudhe,Ullam Ketkume,Kireedam,Kaatru Veliyidai, Paramasivam,Suyetchai MLA and Vijay Sethupadhi's upcoming film Maamanithan are some of her noteworthy Tamil entries.She had been the most endearing mother in Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai,[a remake of Malayalam Aniyathipravu}&Alai Payuthe and an affectionate grandmother of Ajith,in Kireedam.
If we think of the number of films that Lalitha has acted,it is enormous.If we talk about the quality of her acting,it is both amazing and appealing.She could excel both in shedding tears and passing on comedy flair in the line of Sowcar Janaki of Tamil cinema. She had always been a woman next door, with her concern for members of her family and contempt for the way some members of the family behaved.The misunderstanding that she developed for her son in Madampi led her even to disown him.But how deeply she regretted her mistake when she came to know the truth and how beautifully she returned her love for her son,with a doubled depth of maternal warmth.
Be it Mohanlal,or Mammootty or Dileep or Prithviraj,she had always been a remarkable mother,creating a creditable sense of maternal belonging for her sons.So long Malayalam cinema outlives its time,this adorable actress would outlive Malayalam cinema,as a maternally consummate actor.We cannot simply say RIP and take rest. KPAC Laitha needs much more than wishing her soul to rest in peace.She needs to be talked about and remembered for ever,for her grand contribution to Malayalam cinema, with her commendably justifiable degree of merit,in performing all the roles that came on her way. Wherever a grumbling voice is heard with a wield of love,one can see the profile of CPAC Lalitha,knocking at the invisible doors of the audience mind.
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