Actress Lalita Pawar, is known for her role of Manhara in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. She is also often remembered for portraying the character of an evil mother-in-law in many films. However, many won’t know that the actress started her career in the Hindi film industry with many glamorous roles.
In 1930, the actress played 17 characters in the film Chatur Sundari. Her look in the 1933 film Daivi Khazana was appreciated by all. After the movie, she gained popularity in the industry and got offers for many glamorous roles in films.
But her fate changed while shooting for a scene in the film Jang-e-Azadi, which was released in 1969. During the shooting of a scene, actor Bhagwan Dada slapped her so hard that it injured one vein of her left eye. After this injury, she had to stay away from films for some time. Later, the actress made a comeback with character roles.
In 1952, Lalita played a character in V Shantaram’s film Dahej. She was seen in the role of an evil mother-in-law in this film. Then, she played many such roles and created an image of a harsh mother-in-law with her brilliant acting.
In 1987, she bagged the role of Manthara in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana. The show was aired on DD National. According to reports, each episode of the show earned a whopping 40 lakh rupees that time.
The actress was born on April 18, 1916. She started her career as a child artist in Arya Mahila. The film was released in 1928 and it was helmed by Narayanrao D Sarpotdar. According to sources, the director spotted the little Lalita while she was watching the shooting of a silent film in Pune. In 1928, she also acted in the film Raja Harishchandra. She acted in about 700 films in her career.
In 1960, she won the Filmfare award for best-supporting actress for the film Anari. In 1961, she won the award of Sangeet Natak Akademi for her acting. The actress breathed her last on February 24 1998.
