She has over 300 movies to her credit, in all the four South Indian languages.

Yesteryear actor Jyothilakshmi who was famous for playing the ‘bad girl’ in the ‘70s, passed away in Chennai on Monday midnight.

The 63-year-old actor breathed her last at a hospital in Chennai . She was said to be undergoing treatment for cancer. She made her film debut, starring in T.R. Ramanna's Tamil film 'Periya Idathu Penn' that had actors Saroja Devi and M.G. Ramachandran in the lead.

She has over 300 movies to her credit, in all the four South Indian languages. A trained dancer, her skills on the dance floor were used to the best of her advantage by filmmakers and she soon became a constant fixture in most films.

She faded into oblivion around the late 80s but the fact that people still remember her speaks volumes about her popularity. Starting off as a child actor, she did her bit as a heroine in some films, but what established her in the industry were roles that were akin to that of a gangster's moll and her 'item' numbers.

All through the 70s and a part of the 80s, Jyothilakshmi appeared to dominate in most South Indian films and her screen presence went on the vane when her sister Jayamalini made her entry on the celluloid screen. Telugu movies that became popular include 'Gandharva Kanya (1979), 'Sitaramulu' (1980) and the hugely-successful film starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao, 'Prem Nagar'.

She was also seen alongside Rajinikanth in a song from his movie 'Muthu' and was also part of a dance number in Vikram's 'Sethu'.

Director Adhik Ravichander tweeted his condolences and said that the actress had a major role in his upcoming film 'AAA' starring Silambarasan. She had also been a part of his last release 'Trisha Illena Nayanthara'.

(With inputs from Chennai Bureau)