The body was then taken to her home in Alwaye, where she had been living on the banks of the Periyar river for the past 15 years. State Industries Minister P. Rajeev represented the Kerala government. The veteran actress was cremated with state honours and the pyre was lit in the house premises. 75-year-old Ponnamma, famous for her distinctive big, red bindi, had been ailing for some time. Ponnamma, who began her acting career in Malayalam drama in the late 1950s and later ventured into films, was a much-loved actress playing mother and grandmother roles. She played the 'mother' of veteran actors like Sathyan and Prem Nazir, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and many others.
In her long and distinguished acting career, she acted in over 700 films, most of which were Malayalam films. She last wore grease paint in 2022, after which age-related illness caught up with her and the actress mostly stayed at home. Her husband passed away in 2011 and she has a daughter who lives in the US. For the last few weeks, she was ill and mostly stayed in the hospital bed as her condition deteriorated. Her scenes with superstar Mohanlal always proved to be a great combination and won the hearts of many and films like 'Thenmavin Kombathu' and 'Kireedom' will always remain hits. Ponnamma and Mohanlal acted in almost 50 films together. Ponnamma had won several awards including the prestigious film awards of the Kerala state government and she was also popular in the television industry.
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