Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla dies at 67

Puducherry: Theatre personality Veenapani Chawla died Sunday after a severe heart attack, said her representative.

“She passed away around 12:00 p.m. at the Be Well Hospital in Puducherry after she suffered a severe heart attack,” her representative Dhavamani told IANS. 

"The funeral will take place tomorrow (Monday) here," she added.

The actress-director-choreographer-writer-composer had founded Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research, which aims to promote research into the creation of new performance methodologies. 

In 2006, she received a Fellowship for a one month Residency at Villa Waldberta, Munich. In the same year, she was honoured with the Zee Astitva Award for excellence in theatre. In 2007, Veenapani was appointed on the board of editors for “Theatre, Dance and Performance Training”, a theatre journal published from the University of Leeds, London. 

In 2011, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for theatre director. 

Richa Chadha, who has been part of her theatre workshops, took to Twitter to share the "saddest news".

"Saddest news ever. Veena Paani Chawla is no more. Heartbreaking. RIP... #Adishakti #Pondicherry," she tweeted Sunday.