Actor R Subbalakshmi passes away

On Thursday, film and television actor R Subbalakshmi passed away in Thiruvananthapuram. She was 87. Reportedly, the actor was admitted to the hospital to treat a few health issues.  

She is popularly known for essaying various grandmother roles. Primarily an Indian Carnatic musician and composer, Subbalakshmi made her film debut with Aarohanam in 1980. She then went on to star in Prithivaraj's Nandanam in 2002. She went on to star in CID Moosa, Rani Padmini, Rappakkal, Thilakkam, etc. 

Having done many films in Malayalam, R Subbalakshmi also acted in Tamil and Telugu. Most recently, she was seen in Vijay's Beast in Tamil. She played the titular role in Ammani, and also starred in Gautham Menon's Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya. In Hindi, she was seen as the late Sushanth Singh Rajput's grandmother in his last film, Dil Bechara. 

Subbalakshmi was initially an All India Radio artist.  She is noted for being the first lady composer of All India Radio from South India. She retired from radio to begin acting. With a career spanning two decades, Subbalakshmi also had a prolific stint as a TV actor and a dubbing artist. 

Subbalakshmi was last seen in the soap opera Sudhamani Supera, in which she played a lead role. She was married to Kalyanakrishnan. She is survived by her three children, including dancer Thara Kalyan.