Santhakumari Amma laid to rest; Mohanlal bids farewell to his mother

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: G. Santhakumari, mother of actor Mohanlal, was laid to rest amid scenes of deep grief and emotional farewell. Mohanlal stood by his mother’s mortal remains from beginning to end, visibly shaken. Hundreds of people from the film industry, politics and social life gathered to pay their last respects.

The cremation was held at around 4 pm at the courtyard of Mohanlal's residence, 'Hill View', on Kesavadev Road at Mudavanmugal, Thiruvananthapuram. Final rites were performed around 3 pm by Mohanlal and family members. Mohanlal and his son Pranav stood on either side of the bier and carried it to the funeral pyre. Mohanlal lit the pyre. Funeral rites were not filmed by the media as per Mohanlal's request. Mohanlal said he did not have the strength to watch those moments again.

The body of Santhakumari was brought from Mohanlal's residence at Elamakkara in Ernakulam to the house in Mudavanmugal at around 6 am on Wednesday. Mohanlal's wife Suchithra and daughter Vismaya arrived soon after. Son Pranav reached Mudavanmugal at around 11 am.

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Suresh Gopi, along with his wife Radhika, and ministers Mohammed Riyas, Veena George and Abdurahiman visited the house to pay their respects. Senior officers of the Territorial Army were also present. Associate Editor VS Rajesh paid floral tributes on behalf of Kerala Kaumudi. Mohanlal’s close friends Priyadarshan, G Suresh Kumar, MG Sreekumar, Antony Perumbavoor and Sanal Kumar attended the rites throughout.

Several other prominent personalities also paid their last respects. They included ministers Saji Cherian, Ramachandran Kadannappally and GR Anil; MPs AA Rahim, K Sudhakaran, Adoor Prakash, KC Venugopal and Kodikunnil Suresh; Mayor VV Rajesh and Deputy Mayor Asha Nath; MLAs Antony Raju and VK Prasanth; former minister VS Sivakumar; R Sreelakha; KS Sabarinathan; DGP Ravada Chandrasekhar; actor Jayaram along with his children Kalidas and Malavika; CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam; Pannyan Raveendran; Gokulam Gopalan; Rajasekharan; Suresh Babu; Major Ravi; actors Karthika and Gokul Suresh; Menaka Suresh; and Mallika Sukumaran, among many others.