4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Shobana mourns the loss of her beloved childhood friend Anita Menon; shares their old photos: ‘Farewell kiddo'
Renowned dancer-choreographer and National Award-winning actor Shobana's childhood friend Anita Menon has passed away. She breathed her last in the early hours of Tuesday. Taking to social media, Shobana penned an emotional note in memory of her dear friend and shared a few pictures from their childhood. She also expressed her deepest condolences to Anita's bereaved family.
'Farewell kiddo. My dear friend. Rest in peace. No more words. My heartfelt condolences to Babu Uncle and Sue Aunty, Satish Menon, Aveesha and Anisha (sic),' the Thudarum actor wrote on Instagram. While one of the black-and-white pictures showed the actor posing with a beaming Anita, another photo, seemingly from their even younger days, featured Anita happily resting her head on Shobana's shoulder as the latter relished a banana.
According to Manorama Online, Anita and her family were Shobana's neighbours during her childhood days in Mylapore, Chennai. Although Anita was younger, Shobana shared a close camaraderie with her, which must have been strengthened by their mutual love for dance.
Anita was, according to her official website, the recipient of the prestigious Performing Arts Fellowship in 2014 from the US' Regional Arts and Culture Council. She was the founder of Anjali School of Dance, established to 'provide training in Bharatanatyam to students in the greater Portland area' as well. She also directed theatrical productions that were adaptations of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. 'Her productions were known for their big dance numbers using several styles of dance, including Indian folk, ballet, hip hop, jazz and Bollywood,' the note on the website read.
A post shared by Shobana Chandrakumar (@shobana_danseuse)
Known for her powerful performances, Shobana has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice and ranks among one of the finest actors in the country. Besides her home ground of Malayalam cinema, she has also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films, leaving a lasting impression in every industry she entered.
After a five-year hiatus, she returned to the silver screen playing a key role in director Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD, featuring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. Shobana was most recently seen in Tharun Moorthy's Thudarum, where she shared the screen with Mohanlal, marking the return of one of Malayalam cinema's most beloved on-screen couples.
