Veteran actor Savithri Sreedharan, who rose to national fame with her award-winning performance in director Zakariya Mohammed’s Sudani from Nigeria (2018), died at her residence in Mankavu, Kozhikode, due to age-related ailments. She was 78 and had been bedridden for a long time.

Although she made her film debut in legendary writer-director MT Vasudevan Nair’s Kadavu (1991), Savithri did not focus on cinema immediately after that, as she was a towering figure in the theatre domain, where she shone brightly for about five decades, winning multiple Kerala State Awards for Best Stage Actress and one Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Drama (Best Actress).

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Theatre legacy

She made her stage debut by appearing in Valayanad Kala Samithi’s Karutha Velicham, according to Manorama Online. She became an active participant in the theatre space through Ahwan Sebastian’s Vazhiyambalam, written by KT Muhammed, MT Vasudevan Nair, Thikkodiyan, and T Damodaran. Savithri worked in amateur plays for about 20 years.

In 1984, she entered the professional theatre domain with the play Ithu Bhoomiyanu by KT Muhammed’s Kalinga Theatre. Later, she played notable roles in Kalinga’s plays, such as Kafir, Srishti, Deepasthambham Mahascharyam, Achchanum Bappayum, Sakshathkaram, Kuchelavrittam, and Samanwayam.

She was an active part of four famous professional theatre troupes in Kozhikode. However, with the golden age of professional theatre troupes coming to an end, she had to bid farewell to the stage.

Savithri Sreedharan’s film career

In 2010, she returned to cinema by playing a small role in director Salim Baba’s Valiyangadi. However, it was her character, Jameela, in Sudani from Nigeria that took Savithri to great heights. It earned her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actress and the National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film).

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She subsequently appeared in movies such as Dakini, Mera Naam Shaji, Virus, Ittymaani: Made in China, Pada, Paappan. Savithri was most recently seen in Pappan Narippatta’s Vayasethrayaayi Muppathiee (2024).

Her husband, Sreedharan, died years ago.

Sudani from Nigeria’s director Zakariya and lead actor Soubin Shahir took to their Instagram stories to express their sadness over Savithri’s death.