Adoor Pankajam passes away at 85

Malayalam actress and comedian Adoor Pankajam passed away at her son"s home in Kerala, on Saturday, at 9.00 pm. She took her last breath in the Adoor town at the age of 85. Her last rites were performed on Sunday afternoon.

The actress had done 412 films encompassing four decades of her acting career. In 1965, she acted in the National Award winning Malayalam movie Chemmeen and was well known for her role in this film. Adoor Pankajam is sister to another Malayalm actress, Adoor Bhavani, who passed away last year. Both the sisters were honored by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy in 2008 for their contributions to drama and theatre.

The veteran actress was suffering from age-related ailments for a long time. She is survived by son Ajayan and daughter-in-law Ambili. Her acting career started at a young age of 12 years with the stage play 'Madhu Madhuryam" by Kalanilayam Theaters. She performed in her second drama 'Rakthabandham" after this.

Adoor Pankajam made her debut in the movies with Premalekhanam produced by Pappa Soman. But another movie of hers titled Vishappinte Vila, directed by Boban Kunchacko, was released first. Her last film Kunjikkoonan starring Dileep, was released in 2002.

Pankajam, along with her sister Adoor Bhavani launched a Theater troupe in 1976, which was known as Adoor Jaya Theaters. But later, Bhavani left the project as the sisters split. Pankajam continued with theater for more than 18 years along with her husband Devarajan Potti.