Thiruvananthapuram: Popular actor and musician R Subbalakshmi who is known for grandmother roles in various Malayalam movies passed away here on Thursday. The 87-year-old actor breathed her last while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here. Subbalakshmi is the mother of noted actor and dancer Thara Kalyan.

Her granddaughter Sowbhagya Venkitesh announced her demise through her Instagram page. 
“I lost her. 30 years of my strength and love. My Ammamma, My Subbu , My baby. Thank you for the prayers,” she wrote sharing a pic from the hospital.

Subbalakshmi rose to fame with her role 'Karthyayani' in 'Kalyanaraman' and appeared in over 75 films in various industries.

'Nandanam', 'Pandippada', 'CID Moosa' and 'Thilakkam' are her other popular movies. She also acted in various Tamil movies including Vijay starrer ' Beast'. She also acted in the Telugu remake of 'Kalyanaraman' and Gautam Menon movie 'Ye Maaya Chesave'. Apart from the South film industry, she also played small roles in several Hindi films.

Subbalaskhmi is a familiar face for the television audience as she acted in many commercial advertisements too. She was also a part of several popular TV shows including serials.

Before making her debut as a film actress in her 60's with the 2002 release ' Nandanam', Subbalakshmi was a music and dance instructor at Jawahar Balabhavan. As an employee with All India Radio (AIR) since 1951, she was popular as the first lady composer of  AIR from south India. She had proven her skills as a dubbing artist too.