Who Was Uttara Baokar? Veteran Actor And Theatre Artist Passes Away At 79

Veteran actor and theatre artist Uttara Baokar passed away at the age of 79 in Pune following a prolonged illness. Baokar, whose health had been ailing for the past year, breathed her last at a Pune hospital on Tuesday. Her final rites were performed on Wednesday morning.

Baoker received much acclaim in Mrinal Sens’s Ek Din Achanak, where she played the wife of a professor and a depressed mother who doesn’t return home. Her role in the film earned her the National Award for best supporting actress.

Baoker's performances in Govind Nihalani’s Tamas and Rukmavati Ki Haveli brought her to the limelight. She played the role of an arrogant and vindictive Zamindar wife in Shyam Benegal’s musical drama Sardari Begum in 1996, which was also highly lauded. She also starred in Sumitra Bhave’s feature films.

Who Was Uttara Baokar

Baokar, who studied at the National School of Drama (NSD) under Ibrahim Alkazi. She graduated from the institute in 1968 and went on to play several roles in the theatre, including Padmavati in Mukyhamantri, Mena in Mena Gurjari, Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello, Mother in playwright Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq, Umarao in Umaro Jaan, etc.

She was the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (for Hindi theatre) in 1984. Baokar translated Jaywant Dalvi’s Marathi play Sandhya Chhaya to Hindi and directed it in 1978.

Baokar also appeared in numerous popular TV shows such as Udaan, Antaral, XZOne, Rishtey Kora Kaagaz, Nazarana, Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, Kashmakash Zindagi Ki, and Jabb Love Hua. She was adored for playing the mischievous Punjabi grandmother "Bebe," who doted on her nerdy granddaughter in the sitcom Jassi Jassi Koi Nahi.

She was also seen in various Marati films such as Doghi, Uttarayan, Shevri, and Restaurant. She is also a prominent All India Radio artist.

Several celebrities, such as actor Manoj Joshi, Marathi director Sunil Sukhtankar, actor Neena Kulkharni, and singer Vani Tripathi Tikoo, expressed their condolences on their social media handles.

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