Kalpana Priyadarshini (13 October 1965 – 25 January 2016), better known mononymously as Kalpana, was an Indian film actress who has appeared in South Indian films, primarily Malayalam and Tamil films. Kalpana has acted in over 300 films in various South Indian languages.
Kalpana started off her career as a child artist in the late 1970s. Although she came into the industry with the intention of being a lead actress, she turned out to be popular among the audiences for her comic roles. At the 60th National Film Awards, she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Thanichalla Njan (2012).
Kalpana was born to theater artists Chavara V.P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi. Actresses Kalaranjini and Urvashi are her sisters. She married Malayalam film director Anil Kumar in 1998 and got divorced in 2012. They have one daughter, Sreemayi Anil.
Kalpana went to Hyderabad for the shooting of the movie Oopiri. On 25 January 2016, she was found unconscious in her hotel room by a roomboy who knocked the door around several times, but it didn’t open. He forcefully opened the door and found her unconscious. She was immediately taken to the hospital by the crew members, but died on the way. Doctors confirmed that she died of heart attack. Postmortem was conducted and her body was flown to her native place on 26 January 2016. The funeral took place on the same day.
Awards
- 2013 – National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress – for the film Thanichalla Njan
- 2016 – Asianet Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress – for the film Charlie (Posthumously awarded)
- 2016 – Henko Flowers Indian Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress – for the film Charlie (Posthumously awarded)
- 2016 – North American Film Award for Best Supporting Actress – for the film Charlie (Posthumously awarded)
