Veteran actress Usha Rani passed away early this morning at a private hospital in Chennai where she was undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment. She was 62 and is survived by her son Vishnu Shankar who has stated that the body will be cremated later this evening (June 21st) while the body will be kept at their Alappakkam residence.

Usha Rani born to a Tamil father and Malayali mother started her career as a child artiste and went on to star in almost 50 films in Tamil and over 200 in Malayalam and has also done Hindi films. She played Kamal Haasan's pair in 'Arangettram' and also had a meaty role opposite Sivaji Ganesan in 'Ennai Pol Oruvan' and MGR's 'Pattikattu Ponnaiya'. Her last film in Tamil was 'Mannava' starring Prashant released in 1997 and in Malayalam it was 'Mayilattam' released in 2004.

Usha Rani created a huge sensation in 1971 when she married director Shankaran Nair who was thirty years older than her but led a happy life with him till he passed away in 2006. The veteran director gave several hits in Malayalam including Kamal Haasan's 'Rasaleela'.

Condolences. Rest in peace ?? pic.twitter.com/DWfNfkXI7c

— Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) June 21, 2020

#Siaa #nadigarsangam senior member #UshaRani Passed away ☺️ Heartfelt Condolence. நமது சங்கத்தின் மூத்த உறுப்பினர் திருமதி. உஷாராணி காலமானார். ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல்?? #RIP !! pic.twitter.com/UBqq1RYbfe

— NadigarSangam PrNews (@NadigarsangamP) June 21, 2020