- published: 21 Feb 2016
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Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K.P.A.C. Lalitha (born 1947) is an Indian film and stage actress who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. She was married to the Bharathan, a Malayalam filmmaker.
K.P.A.C. Lalitha was born as Maheshwari Amma in 1947 in Ramapuram near Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, Kerala to Kadaykatharayil Veettil K. Ananthan Nair and Bhargavi Amma. She has a brother and a sister: Krishnakumar and Shyamala. She learned to dance when she was still a child under the tutelage of Kalamandalam Gangadharan. She started acting in plays when she was 10 years old.
Her first appearance on stage was in the play Geethayude Bali. She later joined K.P.A.C. (Kerala People's Arts Club), which was a prominent leftist drama troupe in Kerala. She was given the screen-name Lalitha and later when she started acting in movies, the tag K.P.A.C. was added to her screen-name to differentiate it from another actress known as Lalitha.
Her first movie was the film adaptation ofKoottukudumbam directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. In 1978 she married Bharathan, a noted Malayalam film director. She took a break from film acting for sometime, doing only a few films. The second era of her career started with Kattathe Kilikkoodu (1983) directed by her husband. During this time, she did many critically acclaimed roles including those in Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986), Ponn Muttyidunna Tharavu (1988), Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu (1988), Vadakku Nooki Yanthram (1989), Dasharatham (1989), Venkalam (1993), Godfather (1991), Amaram (1991), Vietnam Colony (1993), Pavithram (1993), Manichitrathazhu (1994), Sphadikam (1995), and Aniyathi Pravu (1997). She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Amaram (1991), a film directed by her husband Bharathan.
Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC) is a theatrical movement in Kerala, India. It was formed in the 1950s by a group of individuals having close ties with Left-wing politics parties of Kerala. This political theatre was very influential in propagating communist ideas in Kerala.
In 1951 KPAC staged its first drama, Ente Makananu Sari (My Son is Right). The songs of this play were written by Punaloor Balan. Its second drama Ningalenne Communistakki (You Made Me a Communist), first performed in 1952, became a path-breaking play in the history of Malayalam theatre. The play was penned by the renowned playwright Thoppil Bhasi, under the pseudonym Soman. Bhasi was underground when he wrote the play. The success of Ningalenne Communistakki made KPAC in the forefront of a powerful people's theatre movement in Kerala.
KPAC played a significant role in popularizing the Communist Party in Kerala through its dramas, road shows and kathaprasangams (story telling).