TRIVANDRUM, 21 October 2006 — Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and opposition Leader Oommen Chandy joined thousands of mourners who gathered here to pay last respects to Srividya. The leading South Indian actress died of cancer Thursday evening at the age of 53. Her mortal remains were consigned to flames at a private crematorium here.
Winner of the best female actor award from the state government three times, she received full state honors before the body was taken for the last rites. She had acted in nearly a thousand films and television dramas, 200 of them as heroine, in five languages.
Daughter of eminent classical singer M. L. Vasanthakumari, Srividya entered the film world at a very young age doing a prominent role in the Tamil film Thiruvarutchelvar opposite Sivaji Ganesan. She went on to receive many awards in Tamil. She also made it big in Malayalam ever since her debut film Chattambikkavala in 1969.
Srividya reached her peak when renowned director K. Balachander picked her as heroine for his best known movie Apoorva Ragangal, which won many laurels in the Indian panorama. Acknowledging her talent and versatility, most top directors had cast her in lead roles.
“I have acted with her is several films and I was her husband, lover, son and friend. Perhaps the only role that I missed was that of a father,” Mammootty, costar of many a film, said.
She was living in the city after she separated from her husband George Thomas against whom she won a property dispute in the Supreme Court recently. She married him after a failed affair with Kamal Haasan, her early hero who flew down to see her in the hospital last week.
