Actress Kalpana was last seen on screen in a poignant role of Mary, an
HIV-affected woman abused by her husband, in the Malayalam film Charlie,
a role that would tragically be her last. The veteran actress, the
sister of actress Urvashi, passed away in Hyderabad early Monday
morning. It is learnt that the actress was in the city to shoot for
Karthi-starrer Thozha, when she passed away due to a suspected heart
attack. She was supposed to shoot for just a couple of hours for the
film.
Kalpana, born into a family of theatre persons, forayed into Kollywood with Bhagyaraj's Chinna Veedu in 1985. Her notable performances included films like Sathi Leelavati, Dum Dum Dum, Pammal K Sambandam, and more. Her character in the runaway hit flick Bangalore Days, too, was widely appreciated. She was last seen in Tamil in Kaaki Sattai, playing the role of Sivakarthikeyan's mother. Kalpana won a National Award for as Best Supporting Actress for the film Thanichala Njan, in 2012. She has acted in over 300 films, primarily in Malayalam and Tamil. She is survived by her daughter.
Actress Simran, who had acted with Kalpana in Pammal K Sambandham, says
she was a wonderful person to work with. "She was a fantastic actor and
I really enjoyed working with her. I had friendly interactions with her
during the shooting of the film and we really had a good time then. I
found her to be a very warm person. I'm sure the industry will miss
her."
