Actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar passes away

Remembered for his roles in 'Ardh Satya', 'Sadak', 'Ishq' and 'Coolie No. 1'.

Veteran actor and social activist ‘Sadashiv Amrapurkar’ who was being treated in a hospital in Mumbai over the past few weeks for lung infection, passed away on early Monday morning. He was 64 old.

Amrapurkar made his mark as an actor and director in Marathi theatre and was best known to the national audience for his roles in movies like 'Ardha Satya', 'Sadak', 'Ishq'. His negative characters in number of Hindi movies also made a mark on the viewers.

From actor Amitabh Bachchan to former cricketer Anil Kumble, expressed their condolences over the demise of Mr. Amrapurkar. 

‘Actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar passes away. RIP. He brought life to all his characters.’ tweeted Mr. Kumble.

‘When a colleague suddenly passes away there is a sudden vacuum, of times spent together, of acknowledgment of their work.’ said Mr. Bachchan.

Born as Ganesh Narwode in Ahmadnagar district of Maharashtra, he adopted the stage name of Sadashiv Amrapurkar and began his career in 1974. With scores of one act plays and dramas on his name, his directorial venture ‘Chinna’, a Marathi play with late Smita Patil, late Dilip Kulkarni and himself, earned him critical praise.

His performance in 'Chinna' said to have gifted him the role Don Rama Shetty in 'Ardha Satya' (1983) directed by Govind Nihlani.

Amrapurkar won Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actor for this role. Nine years later, he won yet another Filmfare award for Best Negative Role for 'Sadak'.

SInce then, Amrapurkar was mostly seen in character roles and was hardly seen as lead actor. Known for his negative roles, Amrapurkar also tried his hand in comic roles in films like 'Coolie No. 1', 'Ankhein' etc. His performance in television series 'Bharat Ek Khoj' and 'Raj Se Swaraj' were widely acclaimed. He was last seen in a cameo in 2013 film 'Bombay Talkies'.

Apart from his work in Cinema and theatre, Amrapurkar was active in rationalist movements in Maharashtra, mainly one led by late Narendra Dabholkar against superstitions.

He actively participated in a project to set up a corpus to be distributed among activists working in social reform movements, by bringing together veteran actors Shriram Lagu, Tanuja and late Nilu Phule.