After a prolonged illness, renowned actress Uttara Baokar passed away at age 79 in a hospital in Pune. According to sources close to her family, the actress and theatre artist passed away on Tuesday, and her final rites were carried out on Wednesday morning.
The actress, whose career spanned more than five decades, gained popularity as a result of her performance in Govind Nihlani’s Tamas. She is well-known for a number of movies, including Doghi, Thakshak, Sardari Begum, The Burning Season, Uttarayan, Rukmavati Ki Haveli, and Ek Din Achanak by Mrinal Sen.
Among the television programmes she has worked on are Rishtey, Jabb Love Hua, Kashmakash Zindagi Ki, and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, among others.
The actress was also well-known in the theatre world and appeared in a number of notable productions, including Mukyhamantri, Mena Gurjari, Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq, and Umrao Jaan, in which she played the title character. She received training in NSD.
For her work in Mrinal Sen’s Ek Din Achanak, Baokar also won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1984, she also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
She collaborated on multiple films with director Sunil Sukthankar, who described her as a “disciplined performer.” He claimed that she used to have a no-nonsense attitude while working on sets. “She played a variety of female roles in our movies and she was one disciplined actor. When on the sets, a no-nonsense attitude used to prevail.”
