Legendary Actress Manorama Passes Away, Celebrities Pay Homage

Legendary actress Manorama died at a private hospital in Chennai, yesterday, following a heart attack, family sources said. She was 78. She is survived by her son Boopathi.

"She passed away due to heart attack, my world has fallen apart," said Boopathi. The actress died at around 12.05 AM. A versatile actress, Manorama holds a Guinness World Record for acting in more than 1,000 films.

Manorama also holds the unique distinction of having been in plays and films with five chief ministers. She played the female lead in the plays written, directed and acted in by former Tamil Nadu chief minister CN Annadurai besides appearing in plays with other chief minister M Karunanidhi.

She also acted in films with NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, of whom later became chief ministers.

Although she acted mainly in Tamil films since 1958, Manorama also essayed roles in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada movies. She was last seen in Arundathi in Telugu.

She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002 and also won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Pudhiya Pathai in 1989.