Legendary actor Dr. Shreeram Lagoo passes away at 92

Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives

2019 may not end on a happy note for all the lovers of Indian Cinema, especially the Marathi and Hindi cinema since one of its most reputed, respected, and revered artists is no more. We are talking about Shreeram Lagoo, who has passed away at the age of 92 at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. He passed away following age-related health issues, family sources said.

His mortal remains have been kept at the mortuary at Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune till his relatives and son come from the US. Confirming the incident Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, managing director, Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital spoke to mid-day, "Dr Lagoo was brought in on a wheelchair to our hospital on Tuesday evening around 8.30 pm but had already passed away by that time."

The man was a lot more than just an actor, the people who have observed his life very closely would know he was also an ENT surgeon. He has acted in more than 100 Marathi and Hindi films and was one of the most powerful and piercing character actors of Indian Cinema at one point.

He was studying medicine when the bug of acting bit him and he knew he had to be an actor. He began his journey into the world of acting by doing theatre. Given his tenacity, he knew he would one day make it on the celluloid and charm everyone with his acting. He made his debut in Hindi cinema in 1971 with Aahat- Ek Ajeeb Kahani, and there was no looking back then.

Also read: Shreeram Lagoo (1927-2019): The legendary actor who was ENT surgeon by profession

Rishi Kapoor even took to his Twitter account and wrote- R I P. One of the most natural spontaneous actors, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo sahab leaves us. Did several films way back. Unfortunately never got to work with him in the past 25/30 years. He had a retired life in Pune. Love you, Dr. Sahab. Take a look right here:

The journey continued for 25 years and his last appearance in a solid role was in 1996 with the film, Aurat Aurat Aurat. In 1980, he began acting in Marathi films and made his debut with a film called Sinhasan. The actor, in his nearly three-decade career, won several awards and accolades for his work in cinema and theatre.

The film industry and political circles condoled the demise of Lagoo, including actor Ashok Saraf and state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar took to Twitter to pay tribute to the legendary actor. Javadekar wrote, "My tributes to all time great artist Shreeram Lagoo. We have lost a versatile personality. A unique theatre actor silver screen and created impact. He was social activists simultaneously. (sic)"

Indian Cinema has lost another gem and a powerhouse of talent and we pray his soul Rest In Peace.

- With inputs from Chaitraly Deshmukh

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates