Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian Cinema, she started her acting career with Kerala People's Arts Club, a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a career spanning five decades, she starred in over 550 films.
Lalitha won two National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress along with four Kerala State Film Awards. In 2009, she was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Filmfare Awards South. Lalitha latterly served as the chairperson of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. She was married to the late Malayalam filmmaker Bharathan.
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Early life
Lalitha was born as Maheshwari Amma at Aranmula, in present day Pathanamthitta District, on 10 March 1947. She was born to Kadaykatharayil Veettil Ananthan Nair and Bhargavi Amma, as the eldest among five children; her four siblings were Indira, Babu, Rajan and Shyamala. She was born five years after her parents' marriage. Her father was a photographer from Kayamkulam and her mother was a housewife who was from Aranmula. She spent most of her childhood at Ramapuram near Kayamkulam.
Her family migrated to Changanassery, Kottayam for her to join dance class. In a young age itself she had very much interest in dance. She learned to dance when she was a child under the guidance of Chellappan Pillai and then under Kalamandalam Gangadharan. She started acting in plays when she was 10 years old.
