Veteran Malayalam actress Chitra died of cardiac arrest in Saligramam, Chennai. She was 56, at the time of her death. According to reports, she was with her family at her Saligramam residence in Chennai, when she suffered a cardiac arrest. The actress made her debut as an adult in the Malayalam film Aattakalasam with Mohanlal and Prem Nazir in 1983. She is survived by her husband Vijayaraghavan and daughter Mahalakshmi.Chitra, a popular actress in the Malayalam and Tamil industry, began her acting career as a child artist.
She has been a part of popular films like Panchgani, Aval Appadithan, Auto Raja, Krodham, Chinna Poove Mella Pesu, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Amaram, Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu and Ekalavyan, among others. She took a break from films after marriage. Chitra returned to the industry with films such as Mazhavillu and Soothradharan. She completed her education till class 10 before stepping into the entertainment industry. In 1982, the actor appeared in a Hindi film titled Razia and later was a part of the 1984 film Ek Nai Paheli. She got the title of “Nallennai Chithra” after she did an oil brand commercial that got popular among the masses.