Veteran Marathi actress and Lavani performer Madhu Kambikar dies at 73 in Pune

Veteran Marathi actress and Lavani performer Madhu Kambikar died in Pune on Monday, 12 October, after a prolonged illness, according to reports carried by India TV and Gulf News. She was 73.

According to India TV, Kambikar had suffered a stroke in 2016 that left one side of her body paralysed and kept her bedridden for several years. Gulf News, citing the Indian Express, reported that she had been unwell for a long time after the paralytic stroke, which led to several health complications. Neither report named an official family spokesperson confirming the death, and no details of the last rites had been reported at the time of writing.

A career across stage, television and cinema

Born on 28 July 1953 in Malegaon Khurd village in Beed district, Kambikar trained with a travelling tamasha troupe before working across folk theatre, the commercial stage, television serials and cinema for more than four decades, according to Gulf News.

Her breakthrough came with the film Shaapit, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Marathi) and a Maharashtra State Award, the report said. Among her other notable works:

• Ek Hota Vidushak, directed by Jabbar Patel, in which she played the mother of Laxmikant Berde’s character
• Hech Majha Maher, which earned her a Maharashtra State Award
• Raosaheb, for which she received the state’s Best Supporting Actress award
• Yeu Ka Gharat and Mala Gheun Chala, both with Dada Kondke, according to India TV
• Raghumaina, Zapatlela and Debu

She also received the Hansa Wadkar Special Award and the Lavani Kalavant Award in 2007, Gulf News reported. India TV highlighted her Lavani performances, including “Bharla Abhaal Paasvi” and “Kutan Tumi Gela Hota Sanga Karbhari”.

Tributes from political and cultural figures

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described the news as deeply saddening, according to Gulf News. He said her roles would remain in the memory of audiences and praised her for blending acting and dance to take rural folk traditions to wider audiences, and offered condolences to her family and fans, the report said.

“Her passing has caused a great loss to the Marathi art world,” Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said in a social media post, according to India TV.

Lavani artist Megha Ghadge, who worked with Kambikar in Dombari, posted a tribute on X calling her “my friend, my Lavani”, Gulf News reported. Ghadge singled out Kambikar’s role and dance in Ek Hota Vidushak and said her art would outlive her.

Legacy in Marathi folk performance

Her work spanned tamasha, Lavani and mainstream Marathi films over more than 40 years, according to Gulf News, which described her as having brought rural folk traditions to wider audiences through a blend of acting and dance.

Sources: India TV, Gulf News