Pune: Veteran actor and stage director Dr Shriram Lagoo passed away at the age of 92 at a private hospital in the city on Tuesday.
Lagoo was considered to be a legend in the theatre and film industry. Dr Lagoo acted in over a hundred movies in Marathi, Hindi and other languages and hundreds of plays in Marathi.
Originally a doctor, Lagoo took to acting at an early age.
Dr Shriram Lagoo began a lifelong association with the dramatic arts that would raise itself in his mind even over his medical studies.
He established a close bond with reading and following the theatrical art. At BJ Medical College, he took up stage performances for the first time. Lagnachi Bedi, a play written by Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre, was one of his first successes.
His influence in the field of stage acting was huge. An actor for whom VV Shirwadkar wrote Natasamrat, he continues to be the benchmark for method actors. A brilliant example is his cinematic debut, Pinjara (1973). One of the last films to be directed by V Shantaram, it was a moralistic tale with Dr Lagoo’s character, Guruji, at the centre of the storm. Flanked by another brilliant actor in Nilu Phule, Dr Lagoo delivered a brilliant, intense debut that was to be the template for his future performances.
As the idealist teacher who realises the mistake of his absolutist morals, Lagoo was in fine form. The films that followed, Saamna (1974) and Sinhasan (1980), convinced the world of his talent. The stage was Lagoo’s arena, and he was one of its finest gladiators. Over a career spanning 40 years, well into his 80s, he performed in plays by Vijay Tendulkar, Atre and Shirwadkar, the last of whom wrote a play with Dr Lagoo specifically in mind that was to be the crown jewel of the doctor’s acting career.
Natasamrat, the story of fading stage actor Ganpatrao Belwalkar, was the King Lear of Marathi stage dramas. For generations to come, Dr Lagoo will remain the standard against which acting talent is measured. When Nana Patekar took on that iconic and ambitious role, it was Dr Lagoo’s approval that he sought. The ever-humble artiste took pride in his performance. Natasamrat was one of the many plays that left a mark on the new generation of actors. Gidhade by Tendulkar, Himalayachi Saavli by Kanetkar, and Surya Pahilela Manus were some of his notable plays.
Shriram Lagoo 1927-2019
1978: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Gharonda
1997: Kalidas Samman
2006: Dinanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan award
2007: ‘Punyabhushan’ Puraskar
2010: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
