Thodupuzha: Veteran Malayalam actress P Vasanthakumari, better known by her stage name Thodupuzha Vasanthi, has died of cancer. She was 65.
Thodupuzha Vasanthi had acted in over 450 movies and also appeared in 16 tele-serials and 100 plays.
The Thodupuzha native had begun her film career through a dance sequence in Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra in 1975. She first got a character role in Ente Neelakasham in 1979. She was noted for her performance in 1982-film Alolam. Her last film was Ithu Thaanda Police that released in 2016.
She had received a Kerala state award for her performance in the theater. She had also received a Film Critics Award.
Onmanorama had earlier featured the plight of the elderly actress who was facing a tough time, battling the tragedies in life.
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She had to stay away from the cinema after her father Ramakrishnan Nair was diagnosed with cancer. By the time she finally made a comeback after three years, her husband Rajeendran was also diagnosed with cancer. He died in August 2010.
She could not continue as an actress due to various ailments. She started a dance school when she could not find enough work with cinema. Even that was closed two years ago. She was left with a leaking house and torments of a lifetime.
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