Acted in 450 films, yet Thodupuzha Vasanthi died penniless after leg amputation, cancer diagnosis

Despite acting in 450 films and around 100 plays, veteran Malayalam actor Thodupuzha Vasanthi spent her final days surviving on a Rs 5,000 pension.

While the film industry has changed the fortunes of many, taking them to places they never imagined, not everyone is lucky enough to have such a life. There have been times when film professionals, including actors, failed to soar high, lost everything they once had, became destitute, and quietly disappeared forever. Veteran actor Thodupuzha Vasanthi's life is proof that cinema doesn't bless everyone equally. According to an old Onmanorama report, not only did she face significant tragedies in her life, but Vasanthi died penniless after suffering for quite some time due to various ailments.

Thodupuzha Vasanthi's way to cinema

Born P Vasanthakumari, her father was a theatre actor who also ran his own troupe. Vasanthi made her film debut at 16 by appearing in a dance sequence in director Kunchacko's Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre (1975). She reportedly received Rs 100 for her first movie. While her breakthrough role was in Thoppil Bhasi's Ente Neelakaasham (1979), it was her performance in Mohan's Aalolam (1982) that catapulted Vasanthi to greater heights.

In a career spanning over four decades, she appeared in about 450 movies and around 100 plays, in addition to 16 tele-serials. Vasanthi drew attention through her roles in movies such as Yavanika (1982), Novemberinte Nashtam (1982), Karyam Nissaram (1983), Nirakkoottu (1985), and Godfather (1991). She also received a Kerala State Award for her theatre performance and a Film Critics Award.

Personal tragedies

However, while she was leading a successful film career, Vasanthi received her first blow as her father was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently died. This affected her emotionally, leading her to take a short break from work.

Just when she was about to return to cinema, tragedy struck her life again as her husband Rejeendran was also diagnosed with cancer. He battled the ailment for a long time and was bedridden for much of that period. He succumbed to the disease in August 2010. They did not have children.

Soon after Rejeendran's demise, Vasanthi's mother also died.

Thodupuzha Vasanthi's final days

But life continued to deal her setbacks even after that. She reportedly developed heart and eye problems and underwent an angioplasty. In August 2017, her right leg was amputated after her diabetes worsened. Soon after that, she was diagnosed with throat cancer, which left her completely unable to continue her acting career. By then, it had become her sole source of income after she had to shut down her dance school.

"My leg was amputated from the knee initially. But then the infection spread. So they had to amputate it again above the knee. It cost me Rs 4 lakh. Then I had to undergo treatment for cancer. I have undergone 20 radiation sessions so far," she told Onmanorama in a 2017 interview. By then, even one of her kidneys had also become non-functional.

In the last leg of her life, Vasanthi survived on the Rs 5,000 monthly pension that the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) provided to financially distressed and ailing actors.

Thodupuzha Vasanthi died on November 28, 2017, at the age of 65. Her last movie appearance was in Ithu Thaanda Police (2016), starring Asif Ali and Janani Iyer in the lead roles.