Quintessential mother figure of Malayalam cinema becomes memory; Kaviyoor Ponnamma's funeral held with official honours

Kaviyoor Ponnamma, the quintessential mother figure of Malayalam cinema, is just a memory now. The funeral was held with official honours at her house in Aluva. It was the actress' brother who lit the pyre and many people came to Ponnamma's house to pay their last respects.

Kaviyoor Ponnamma passed away at 5.33 p.m. yesterday while she was undergoing treatment for cancer at Lissy Hospital. She has acted in more than 600 films. She had been taking a break from films for the past two years due to health issues. When she was diagnosed with cancer last May, she was in a critical condition of stage 4. Kaviyoor Ponnamma was admitted to the hospital again on the 3rd of this month. She was staying with her brother Manoj at his residence in Aluva called Sreepadam.

Ponnamma was born on September 10, 1945 at Kaviyoor near Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta to TP Damodaran and Gowri Damodaran. She was married to film producer late MK Maniswamy. Their daughter Bindu is in the US with her husband Venkataram, who is a professor at the University of Michigan. Ponnamma is the sister of the late actress Kaviyoor Renuka. She won the State Award for Supporting Actress in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1994. She has also won the Bharath Murali Award, Kalaratnam Award and the Special Award of the Department of Culture. Ponnamma has also acted in several television serials.