Reema Lagoo, Bollywood’s glamorous maa, dead at 59

MUMBAI: Renowned actor Reema Lagoo, who lent a dash of glamour to Hindi filmdom’s concept of motherhood with her sober, yet sleek ‘maa’ roles, died in the early hours of Thursday following a cardiac arrest. She breathed her last at a suburban hospital where she was rushed to after complaining of severe chest pain. She was 59. Lagoo’s final rites were performed at Oshiwara crematorium.
Film personalities Aamir Khan, Mahesh Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor, Kajol, Mahesh Manjrekar, Manoj Joshi, Sanjay Narwekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Neena Kulkarni and Prashan Damle, among others, attended her funeral.
Born in Mumbai on June 21, 1958, Lagoo, nee Nayan Bhadbhade, took to Marathi stage at an early age, taking cue from her mother, noted funster Mandakini Bhadbhade. Lagoo excelled in the Marathi plays of 1980s, including Ratnakar Matkari’s ‘Ghar Teeghancha Hava’ and ‘Savita Damodar Paranjpe’, a heart-wrenching drama on man-woman relationship.
Written by Jaywant Dalvi and directed by Vijaya Mehta, ‘Purush’ spoke of gender inequality, and the struggle between Gandhian values and the unbridled lust for power. Lagoo’s soulful portrayal of ‘Amba’, daughter of a Gandhian who takes on a powerful politician after he rapes her, symbolised the sharp decline in public values in the India of the 1980s. “Reema and Nana Patekar, who played the rogue politician, would bring the auditorium to a standstill with their powerful performances in ‘Purush’,” said noted theatre person Vishwas Sohoni.
Soon, the tall, light-eyed actor earned a niche in Marathi-Gujarati theatre, joining the batallion of female actors such as Rohin Hattangady, Suhas Joshi, Neena Kulkarni, Vandana Gupte and Bharati Achrekar, who set out to mould the sensibilities of a generation of theatre-goers.
Lagoo excelled in light-hearted flicks and soap operas too.
On screen, Lagoo earned widespread popularity by playing post-globalisation mother to superstars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt in films such as ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Aashiqui’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ and ‘Vaastav’. She was nominated four times for the coveted Filmfare award for best supporting actor. She received the state government’s award for ‘Reshimgaath’, a Marathi film, and V Shantaram award for contribution to cinema.
Vinay Waikul, her son-in-law, said, “She complained of chest pain so we took her to hospital around 1am. She passed away due to a heart attack around 3.15am. She was perfectly fine. Her death is a shock.”