South Indian film actor Mynavathi (78) died of cardiac arrest here on Saturday morning at a private hospital.
She leaves behind her son, Gurudutt, a small screen personality.
Film and television personalities thronged her house in large numbers and paid their last respects to the actor.
Mynavathi was the sister of south Indian film actor the late Phandari Bai. Her father, Ranga Rao, was a musician.
Mynavathi made her debut in Santa Sakku as a child artiste. Her first big role was in Bhakta Vijaya (1956) with Rajkumar in the lead. She later went on to act in over 100 Kannada films.
She acted alongside Dr. Rajkumar, Udaya Kumar and Kalyan Kumar in many films. Some of popular films include Abba aa Hudugi, Sodari, Kacha-Devayani, Rayara Sose, Naane Bhagyavathi, Anuraadha, Annapurna, Sarvajnamurthy, Amma, Muththiade Bhagya, Obbarigintha Obbaru, Hari Bhakta and Tejaswini . She acted with Shivaji Ganesan in Tamil films.
In later years, Mynavathi did many character roles with great aplomb. She ventured into television industry in the late 80s by launching Yantra Media with her sons Shyamsundar and Gurudutt. She featured in two popular tele-serials, Amma and Manetana .
Mynavathi had gone into depression after she lost her son, Shyamsundar, five years ago. Her last public appearance was during the Sri Raghavendra Chitravani award presentation ceremony in May 2011 when she received an award from actor Jayamala.
