Chennai, Feb 21 (PTI): Veteran Tamil actress SN Lakshmi, who had donned the role of a 'mother' in most films, passed away in Chennai last night after a heart attack. She was 85.

She was admitted to a private hospital a couple of days back and the end came around 1am. Her body was brought to her residence at Saligramam in Chennai, where people from the tinsel world paid their last respects.

Her body will be taken to her native Virudhunagar district where the last rites would be performed tomorrow.

The versatile Lakshmi had acted in several Tamil and Telugu films, her memorable ones being Michael Madhana Kamaraj, Mahanadhi and Kadhala Kadhala.

She had acted with top stars like MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan.

Condoling her death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said that Lakshmi, a recipient of the state government's prestigious titles like 'Kalaimamani' and 'Kalaiselvam,' had acted in more than 1,500 films and 6,000 dramas. "Her death is a great loss to the film world," she said.