‘Swades’ actor Kishori Ballal dies at 82

Bengaluru, February 18

Veteran Kannada actor Kishori Ballal, who had acted in over 75 movies and left an indelible mark with her role in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Swades”, died on Tuesday at the age of 82.

The actor passed away due to age-related ailments at a private hospital here, family sources said.

Born in Dakshina Kannada district, Ballal made acting debut with 1960’s “Ivalentha Hendathi” and in her five-decade-long career, she worked in over 75 movies across different languages such as “Kahi”, “Hani Hani”, “Suryakanthi”, “Carry On Maratha” and “Quick Gun Murugun”.

In the Hindi film industry, Ballal is best known for playing Kaveri Amma, a motherly figure to Shah Rukh’s Mohan Bhargava in Ashutosh Gowariker’s 2004 critically-acclaimed feature “Swades”.

She also appeared in Rani Mukerji’s “Aiyyaa” and Deepika Padukone’s “Lafangey Parindey”.

She was married to Bharatanatyam dancer N Sripathi Ballal.

Soon after her demise, Gowariker posted a tribute to the veteran actor on Twitter.

“Heartbroken! Terribly sad about the passing away of #KishoriBallal ji. Kishori ji... you will be remembered for your generously kind, warm and affable persona! And your unforgettable performance as #Kaveriamma in #Swades !! You will surely be missed,” the director tweeted.

Popular Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar tweeted, “Veteran artist Kishori Ballal amma is no more, RIP.” — PTI