Versatile south Indian actress Kalpana died of heart failure in her hotel room in Hyderabad, the location of her new film in Telugu, early yesterday morning at the age of 51.
Her close friend Kalavati, who was staying in an adjacent room in the hotel, said they were together till 2am the previous night and she showed no signs of sickness.
Kalavati said she opened Kalpana’s room with the help of hotel employees around 6.30am after the actress failed to respond to her calls and found her lying unconscious in bed.
“We watched a movie, and I went to sleep after having dinner together. We were supposed to go to the sets early in the morning,” Kalavati said.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy immediately contacted the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad which informed him that she had died on the way.
The body was handed over to her relatives, including her sisters Urvashi and Kalaranjini, both famous actresses, after an autopsy at the Osmania Hospital.
Reports from Hyderabad said her colleagues, including top stars Kartik and Nagarjuna, and hundreds of fans paid homage when her body was kept at the Jubilee Hills Film City from 3.20pm to 5pm.
The body, now kept at Apollo Hospital, will be flown to Kochi, where she was living with her mother Vijayalakshmi and teenage daughter Sreemayi, today morning.
She will be cremated at Tripunithura crematorium.
The industry received the news of her untimely death with shock and despair, and many stars took to the Facebook and Twitter to express their grief.
“Deeply saddened and shocked to hear the sudden demise of one of my fav actress Kalpana Chechi (elder sister)! what an actress! huge loss indeed! RIP Chechi!” tweeted Priyamani.
“RIP Kalpana Chechi! A fine actor and a finer human being! We flew together into Hyderabad yesterday afternoon... And she was in such high spirits as always! You will be missed forever!!” Prithviraj wrote on his Facebook wall.
She reached in Hyderabad on Sunday afternoon and later attended the International Indian Film Academy’s South Indian film awards night, which was her last public appearance.
“Devastated to hear about Kalpana chechi. I’ve known her since I was a toddler, and she would always tell me stories about my childhood,” wrote youth icon Dulquar Salman, the hero of her last film Charlie.
“At a loss for words. When we shot the boat scene where Charlie kisses Mary, I remember her being so happy. She kept saying I would never give her kisses as a child.”
Kalpana started her career as the heroine of the much-acclaimed Aravindan film Pokkuveyil (1981) and went on to act in more than 300 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu besides being regular on television shows.
She won the national award for the best actor in a supporting role for the Njan Thanichalla in 2012.
Kalpana played a variety of roles in Tamil cinema including Dum Dum Dum (Pattamma) and Idhaya Thirudan. She was introduced to the Tamil audience by actor-director K Bhagyaraj as his heroine in his 1985 hit movie Chinna Veedu.
She also paired with Kamal Haasan in his hits Sathi Leelavathy and Pammal K Sambandam.
“Shocked and dismayed to hear of her demise. Always the one to surprise us, with her performances, words and her wit - onscreen and offscreen. A consummate artiste - Kalpana. Rest in peace Chechi,” national award-winning director Anjali Menon wrote.
“Wonderful person and a great artist..RIP Kalpana ma,” Sivakarthikeyan wrote.
Santosh Sivan said: “Kalpana passing away is a very sad personal loss too. RIP.”
Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) president and Lok Sabha member Innocent said: “We acted together in so many films… (she played) my sister, wife and what not. Even though she might be referred to as a comedy artiste, I will rate her as a wonderful actor and a real spirited one too.”
“I knew she had some health problems, but never knew she had a heart problem. It’s a very sad day for the Malayalam film industry.”
Veteran film actress Kaviyoor Ponnamma wailed when she was told of Kalpana’s death.
“No way, I just can’t believe it. She was always concerned about my health and see what has happened,” said Ponnamma.
Actress KPAC Lalitha said Kalpana would always be alive in her heart.
“She has been a very strong supporter for me in all my trials and tribulations. We used to be in regular touch, and this is heartbreaking for me,” she said.
Her latest film Charlie is still running to packed houses. Her most popular films in Malayalam include Dr Pasupathy, Kouthuka Varthakal and Butterflies.
Her later father V P Nair was a respected theatre personality. She married director Anil in 2000 and the couple separated in 2012.