Veteran actress Chithra dies at 56

Veteran actress Chithra died on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest at her Chennai residence. She was 56.

The actress, who appeared in numerous Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films, was born on 21 May 1965 in Kochi, Kerala. She later came to be known as 'Nallennai' Chithra due to the popularity of an advertisement in which she promoted an oil brand.

She made her big-screen debut as a child artiste in K Balachander's Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal (1975), which also featured Rajinikanth in his acting debut. She was also a part of the Hindi remake, Ek Nai Paheli (1984).

Chithra debuted as a lead in the Malayalam film Aattakalasam (1983) with actors Prem Nazir and Mohanlal. She went on to act in the Malayalam films Adavitam (1992), Nadodi (1992), Ekalavyan (1993), Devasuram, (1993), Commissioner (1994), Aaram Thampuran (1997) and Ustaad (1999). She has been a part of over 100 Tamil and Malayalam films.

The actress was remembered by several personalities online, including actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.

The actress is survived by her husband Vijayaraghavan and daughter Mahalakshmi. Her funeral took place at 4 pm in Chennai.