Malayalam actress and assistant film director Ambika Rao, of ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ movie fame, passed away. According to reports, the actress was reportedly undergoing treatment after contracting Covid-19. On Monday night, her health deteriorated and the 58-year-old actress died after she suffered a cardiac arrest at around 10:30 pm at a hospital in Ernakulam. She is survived by her two sons, Rahul and Sohan.

Ambika Rao began her career in the Malayalam film industry in the year 2002 as an assistant director. She worked with filmmaker Balachandra Menon’s ‘Krishna Gopalakrishna’. Before starting her acting career, the actress has worked as assistant director for number super hits including ‘Rajamanikyam’ and ‘Thommanum Makkalum’, ‘Vellinakshathram' and many others. Though Ambika has played notable roles in several Malayalam movies such as 'Virus', 'Meesha Madhavan', 'Anuragakarikkin vellam', ‘Salt and Pepper’, ‘Meesha Madhavan’, ‘Thamasha’, ‘Vellam’, etc, it was 'Kumbalangi Nights' that gave her instant fame. She played the role of the mother of Baby Mol (Anna Ben) and Simmy (Grace Antony). Her demise has left the entire film industry in a state of shock.

Soon after hearing about the demise of the actor, several M-Town celebs have taken to their respective social media handles to pay tributes. From legendary actors Mammootty and Mohanlal to director Aashiq Abu, several celebs paid tribute to the actress on social media. Take a look -

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