Veteran actor Sulochana Latkar dies aged 94; last rites on June 5

Veteran actor Sulochana Latkar died on Sunday due to prolonged illness at a hospital in Mumbai, her grandson-in-law Parag Ajgavkar confirmed. She was 94.

Latkar, a well-known actor in Marathi and Hindi cinema, started her career in the 1940s and went on to feature in over 250 films.

The actor was admitted to Shushrusha Hospital in Dadar on May 8.

"She passed away at around 6.30 pm at the hospital due to prolonged illness. She had a respiratory tract infection for which she was admitted on May 8," Parag told PTI.

Some of Latkar's notable films are "Sasurvas", "Vahinichya Bangdya", and "Dhakti Jau" in Marathi and "Aaye Din Bahar Ke", "Gora Aur Kala", "Devar", "Talaash", and "Azaad", in Hindi.

In Bollywood, the actor largely played on-screen mother to lead stars of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s including Sunil Dutt, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan.

She featured in Hindi blockbuster hits such as "Heera", "Reshma Aur Shera", "Jaani Dushman", "Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai", "Jhonny Mera Naam", "Kati Patang", Mere Jeevan Saathi", "Prem Nagar", and "Bhola Bhala".

Latkar was honoured with Padma Shri in 1999. She is survived by her daughter Kanchan Ghanekar.

Her last rites will be held tomorrow at 5 pm at Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar. 

Ritiesh Deshmukh pays tribute to the departed 

(Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to condole the death of Sulochana Latkar. He shared a photo of the veteran actress along with the tweet. | Image: Riteish Deshmukh/Twitter)

As soon as the news of the actor's passing was shared, several celebrities took to their social media accounts to share their condolences. Riteish Deshmukh paid his tribute on Twitter by sharing that Sulochana Latkar "ruled the hearts of audiences" in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Addressing the Padma Shri awardee as 'Didi', Riteish mentioned that the news of her passing is very sad.