Who was Chitra: Popular Malayalam-language actor Chitra died of cardiac arrest at her residence in Saligramam, Chennai, on Saturday morning. She was 56. The veteran, who had worked in more than 100 films in multiple regional languages, had earned the nickname “Nallennai” for featuring in an oil commercial that was very popular back in the day.
She had predominantly acted in Malayalam and Tamil films, and later worked in regional language serials as well. The actor suffered a massive heart attack on August 21, as per reports. She is survived by her husband Vijayaraghavan and a daughter named Mahalakshmi. Her sudden demise has left the film industry in shock and condolences messages are pouring from celebrities and her co-actors.
Who was Chitra?
Chitra was born in Kochi and was the middle child among three siblings. She completed her education till class 10 before quitting studies to pursue a full time career in the entertainment industry. Chitra began her career as a child artist with director K Balachander’s film Apoorva Raagangal in 1975. An adult Chitra made her debut in the Malayalam film Aattakalasam with Mohanlal and Prem Nazir in 1983. The actor went on to work with some of the biggest personalities in the Malayalam and Tamil industries.
She is known for her role in Cheran Pandiyan and Gopala Gopala among many others. The actor, who was busy in her last days with work Tamil daily soaps and was living with her family in Saligramam.
Her most notable performances include roles in Kalikkalam, Devasuram, Aval Appadithan, Auto Raja, Krodham, Chinna Poove Mella Pesu, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Amaram, Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu, Ekalavyan and Pathamudayam among others. She has featured in several Southern films of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. Having featured in over 100 films, she had shared screen space with actors like Mohanlal and Mammootty. In Kannada, Chitra had done a few films, which included Sundara Swapnagalu, Krishna Mechida Radhe and Ajay Vijay.
She got married in 1990 to Vijayaraghavan and took a break from films after marriage. Chitra returned to the industry after almost a decade and brought in her old charm in films such as Mazhavillu and Soothradharan.
Feature Image Credit: Mathrubhumi
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