Actress Reema Lagoo cremated

Family, friends and prominent Hindi and Marathi film personalities bid adieu to noted actress Reema Lagoo, who was cremated here this afternoon.

Lagoo, best known for playing the modern-day Bollywood mother in films such as "Maine Pyar Kiya", "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" and "Kal Ho Na Ho", passed away today after suffering a cardiac arrest at a hospital. She was 59.

She is survived by by daughter Mrunmayee, a theatre and film actress as well as theatre director, who performed the last rites at the Oshiwara crematorium here.

Prominent actors like Rishi Kapoor, Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, Shreyas Talpade, Rakesh Bedi, Anang Desai, Raza Murad, Sulbha Arya, Ashoke Pandit, Sai Tamhankar and her "Naamkarann" co-star Sayantani Ghosh were present during the cremation.

Superstar Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao, and actors Renuka Shahane, Sachin Pilgaonkar along with his daughter Shriya visited the actress's residence here.

Born in Mumbai, Lagoo started her career with theatre where she acted in several Marathi plays. She later took it as a full-time profession.

At the age of 30, she worked in Mansoor Khan's film "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", in which she played the role of Juhi Chawla's mother Kamla Singh.

From Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda and Madhuri Dixit, Lagoo played mother to many of the top actors of the Hindi film industry on the silver screen.

One of her most successful roles was in "Hum Aapke Hai Koun...!", where she played Anupam Kher's wife and Madhuri's mother.

Lagoo was popular for playing spirited characters on TV shows like "Shrimaan Shrimati" and "Tu Tu Main Main".

In an acting career spanning almost four decades, Lagoo appeared in several hit films like "Saajan", "Vaastav, "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Hum Saath-Saath Hain", "Deewana Mastana", "Yes Boss" and "Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon".

She was last seen in the television show "Naamkarann", which aired on Star Plus.

Maharashtra's Culture Minister Vinod Tawde described Lagoo as the silver screen's popular mother, while paying tributes to the actress.

In an official statement, Tawde said, "She had played a variety of roles in Marathi and Hindi movies for a long tenure.

"Her role as mother and mother-in-law on silver screen made her popular and today the silver screen has lost the 'popular mother'. Her four-decade-long career has been full of variety of roles on the screen as well as on the stage."

Lagoo was recently felicitated with the V Shantaram Award of the state government for her contribution in the film industry.