Noted actor and theatre artist Uttara Baokar passed away in Pune after a prolonged illness, sources close to her family said. She was 79.
Baokar, who was ailing for the last one year, breathed her last at a hospital on Tuesday. Her last rites were performed on Wednesday morning, they said.
Baokar, who studied acting at the National School of Drama (NSD), played various roles in different plays such as Padmavati in Mukhyamantri, Mena in Mena Gurjari, Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello, mother in playwright Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq, among others.
Baokar rose to fame following her role in Govind Nihlani’s film Tamas. She also acted in Sumitra Bhave’s feature films.
Filmmaker Sunil Sukthankar said he worked in around eight feature films with her and his long-time collaborator Sumitra Bhave used to reckon her as an actor who could portray strong female characters.
“She played a variety of female roles in our movies and she was one disciplined actor. When she was on the sets, a no-nonsense attitude used to prevail,” he recalled.
