Veteran actor A Sakunthala, popularly known as CID Sakunthala following her iconic role in Jaishankar-led thriller CID Shankar (1970), breathed her last on September 17. She was 84.
The actor reportedly failed to respond to treatment after being admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru following complaints of chest pain.
Born in Salem's Arisipalayam to Arunachalam and Rajammal, Sakunthala made her on-screen debut as a dancer in Kaithi Kannayiram (1960); her big break came a decade later with the Jaishankar-starrer that earned her the moniker CID Sakunthala. Her dance performance in the romantic numbers 'Naanathale Kannam' and 'Brinthavanathil Poo' in the film won praise.
Apart from starring in numerous MGR films (En Annan and Idhaya Veenai) and Sivaji Ganesan (Padikkatha Methai, Andaman Kadhali, Vasantha Maligai and Bharatha Vilas), she also worked in Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, totalling over 600 features. Notably, several Malayalam films of Sakunthala, like Kuppivala, Cochin Express, Neela Ponman and Thacholi Ambu (which also starred Sivaji Ganesan), saw her collaborating with Prem Nazir.
Sakunthala turned to acting in TV serials after quitting films with Ponmaanai Thedi in 1998. She was working on serials till 2019.