Well-known Tamil comedian and actress Manorama died in Chennai on Saturday. She was 78 and is survived by her son and singer-actor Boopathy.
After suffering a cardiac arrest at her residence, she was rushed to the hospital, where she died.
“After dinner [on Saturday], she complained of some pain in her chest and struggled to breathe. We rushed her to Apollo hospital where she failed to respond to the treatment and passed away late at night,” a source said.
Over the last few months, she was receiving treatment due to multiple organ failures.
Popularly known as Aachi by her fans, Manorama acted in more than 1,000 films across five languages and sang more than 100 songs.
She was born Gopishanta in Manargudi, Tamil Nadu, in 1937 and began her career as a stage performer at a time when women rarely acted in plays.
As a stage actress, she chose to change her name to Manorama.
In 1958, she made her film debut in Tamil movie Malayitta Mangai, and since then went on to star predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films.
Known as one of the finest female comedians, Manorama proved her versatility with her body language and dialogue delivery. She could render dialogues with ease in any dialect of Tamil.
Some of her best Tamil films include Anbe Vaa, Ethir Neechal, Galatta Kalyanam, Chittukuruvi, Durga Devi, Annalakshmi and Imayam.
In Telugu, she starred in films such as Rikshavodu, Krishnarjuna and Subhodayam.
In 1974, she acted alongside legendary comedian Mehmood in Hindi film Kunwara Baap.
A recipient of the Kalaimamani, a Tamil Nadu award for excellence in the field of art and literature, she was bestowed with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award in 2002.
She holds the record of starring opposite a host of Tamil superstars, from M.G. Ramachandran to Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
