(Karachi) Veteran Pakistani film actress Neelo Begum passed away at the age of 80, local media reported.

Her son, film star Shaan Shahid, announced her demise. "It is with the saddest of heart I share the departure of my mother as she has gone to her creator," he wrote on Twitter.

Born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes, Neelo had the distinction of being the only Pakistani heroine to have worked in a major Hollywood movie, Bhowani Junction (starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger), which incidentally also marked her film debut.

She joined Pakistani films as an 'extra', worked hard and graduated to doing second lead roles and ultimately rose to the position of leading lady by the sheer dint of her immense talent.