Popular actress Chitra passes away at 56 due to cardiac arrest

CHENNAI: Popular yesteryear actor Chitra died here on Saturday following a cardiac arrest, sources close to her family said.

The 56 year-old multi-lingual actor, more popularly known as 'Nallennai' (gingelly oil) Chitra following her association with a top oil brand, is survived by husband and daughter. She passed away at her Saligramam residence here.

Born in Kochi, Kerala, Chitra who earned the sobriquet 'Nallennai' after the gingelly oil advertisement in which she acted became popular, rose to fame in the Tamil film industry in the 1990s. She has acted in a number of films alongside top stars including Rajinikanth, Sarathkumar and Prabu.


Introduced as a child artist by director K Balachander in 1975 in the national award winning Tamil film 'Apoorva Raagangal,' Chitra starred along with other popular actors like Kamal Haasan and Srividya as well. She has worked in a number of Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films also.

Chitra was cast as Mary Kutty along with top stars Prem Nazir, Mohanlal and Lakshmi in her first film Aattakalasham in Malayalam in 1983. She has also starred in some tele-serials.