KOCHI: Actress KPAC Lalitha, who passed away last night will be cremated at the premises of her house in Vadakkancherry at 5 pm. She will be cremated with full state honours. Her body will be kept at the Layam Auditorium in Thripunithura for the public to pay homage from 8 to 11.30 am.

The body will be taken to Vadakkancherry at noon. The body will be kept at the Sangeetha Nataka Academy Hall. She died last night at 10.45 pm at her son’s flat in Thripunithura. She was undergoing treatment for quite some time after falling sick.

Lalitha, wife of noted director late Bharathan, was Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy chief. She was born to Ananthan Naair and Bhargavi Amma at Ramapuram in Kayamkulam on March 10 in 1947. Her real name was Maheswari. She entered into the artistic field by dancing to a revolutionary song while studying in school.

Her first appearance on stage was in the play Geethayude Bali at the age of 10. After stepping into KPAC, Maheswari turned KPAC Lalitha. In a short span of time, she gained attention in theatres. Her first film was the adaptation of Thoppil Bhasi’s Koottukudumbam directed by K S Sethumadhavan in 1969.

She shone mostly in supporting actor roles. She has acted in more than 600 films. She was a winner of two national award for supporting roles and four Kerala State Film Awards. She had also acted in TV serials. Her last film was Home.