RIP, Lalitha

Lalitha Lajmi will always be remembered through the lives she touched, said Aamir Khan Productions in a tribute to the late self-taught artiste. Lajmi, who excelled in the depiction of individualistic Indian women through decades in her art works, died on Monday at the age of 90.

The prolific painter had made a guest appearance in Aamir Khan’s 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. Lajmi played the judge of the art competition where Ishaan, a creative young student with dyslexia (Darsheel Safary) was declared the winner. The official Twitter handle of the superstar’s eponymous production banner paid homage to Lajmi on Tuesday night. “Dear Lalita Pachi, the love in you, will always be alive in all those of us you have touched. We will miss you,” the post read.

Lajmi was the younger sister of master filmmaker Guru Dutt and drew inspiration from his films for her paintings. She had also worked as a graphics artist in the 1985 Hindi movie Aghaat. The late artist also had several exhibitions at national and international institutions, such as Appa Rao Gallery, Chennai, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and Gallery Gay in Germany, to her credit.