Actress and musician R. Subbalakshmi, popular for playing the role of a grandmother in several Malayalam films, passed away on 30th November in Thiruvananthapuram. She was 87 and had been undergoing treatment in a private hospital when the end came. She is survived by three children, including noted actress-dancer Thara Kalyan,
Subbalakshmi rose to fame with Kalyanaraman. She acted in over 75 films in different languages. Nandanam, Pandippada, CID Moosa and Thilakkam are some of the Malayalam films she acted in. She also acted in the Telugu remake of Kalyanaraman and in Ye Maaya Chesave. Subbalakshmi played a role in Tamil Beast. She had also worked in several Hindi films like Ek Deewana Tha and Dil Bechara.
She entered the acting arena when she was in her sixties! Before that, she worked as a music and dance instructor at Jawahar Balabhavan. She was the first lady composer of All India Radio from South India. Being bestowed with a good voice, she was also a very successful dubbing artiste.
