Mumbai/Kolhapur: Shock and gloom struck the Marathi and Hindi entertainment industry as senior actress and singer Ashalata Wabgaonkar died of Coronavirus on Tuesday.

Ashalata, whose credits seldom feature her surname, was effective in emotional films like ‘Umbartha’ and ‘Apne Paraye’ as well as in comic capers like ‘Shaukeen’ and ‘Woh Saat Din’. She is also remembered for her role in the 1986 sleeper hit ‘Ankush’.

The 79-year-old theatre and cinema veteran was among 22 crew members of the Marathi TV serial ‘Aai Majhi Kalubai’ diagnosed corona-positive last week after they resumed filming in Satara. Ashalata was on ventilator for the past few days. Senior co-artiste Alka Kubal, the producer of the serial, tended to her in hospital.

In its ‘Unlock’ norms of July, the state had imposed a ban on cast and crew members below age 10 and above 65 from resuming work on sets, citing health risks.

However, trade federation IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association) challenged the ban in court, arguing that senior artistes would be deprived of earning their livelihood and that story continuity would suffer. On August 7, the Bombay high court overturned the ban, permitting senior actors to resume shooting.

The Goa-born actress started her career with Konkani and Marathi plays and went on to feature in over 100 films. Her songs in Marathi ‘sangeet nataks’ feature regularly on AIR. Her autobiography ‘Gard Sabhowati’ documents her journey.

Ashalata’s peers recalled the ever-smiling, pleasant actress whose unassuming manner hid a powerhouse of talent. Among her notable films were ‘Ahista Ahista’, ‘Namak Halaal’, ‘Yaadon Ki Kasam’. Her Marathi repertoire is led by ‘Umbartha’, ‘Navri Mile Navryala’, ‘Vahinichi Maya’ and ‘Sutradhar’. Ashalata’s plays ‘Guntata Hridaya He’, ‘Varyavarchi Varaat’, ‘Chinna’ (with Smita Patil and Sadashiv Amrapurkar) and ‘Mahananda’ won acclaim.

She was the supportive sister-in-law to Shabana Azmi in ‘Apne Paraye’ and ‘Swami’, and to Smita Patil in ‘Umbartha’, with their children gravitating to her warm persona for bedtime stories and lullabies. Ashalata’s stoic act as grandmother of Neesha Singh, who plays a rape victim in ‘Ankush’, embodied the song ‘Itni shakti hamein dena daata’.

Equally, her broom chase of philandering husband (Ashok Kumar) in ‘Shaukeen’ is etched in memory.

Azmi tweeted, “Deeply saddened. I had the pleasure of working with Ashalataji in Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Apne Paraye’ and she was a delight to work with.”

Neesha Singh told TOI, “I remember being instantly drawn to her gentleness and simplicity. She was, even then, well known in the Marathi theatre world, which I was unaware of because she approached her role with rare humility and almost newcomer-like enthusiasm. She made me feel we were both on par as far as our experience as actors was concerned. It was only later that I discovered she was already known as a stellar performer. She’s left a lasting impression on me.”

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Veteran actress Ashalata Wabgaonkar succumbed to Covid-19 in the early hours of Tuesday. As Mirror had reported (September 22) she was shooting for the Marathi TV show, Aai Mazi Kalubai, in Satara, when a week ago, she along with 21 crew members contracted coronavirus. She was admitted to a local hospital where she was recovering when she suffered a relapse late on Monday and passed away early on Tuesday. She was 83 and is survived by a son.

Originally from Goa, Ashalata’s journey began with Konkani and Marathi plays. In a career spanning over four decades, she acted in over 100 Hindi and Marathi films, including Zanjeer, Aahista Aahista, Shaukeen, Apne Paraye, Woh Saat Din, Umbharta, Sutradhar and Vahinichi Maya. She was also trained in classical music and was a known Marathi Natyasangeet singer. Ashalata authored her biography, Gard Sabhowati, tracing her journey in the entertainment industry.

Shabana Azmi recalls that she was a pleasure to work with in Basu Chatterjee’s Apne Paraye. “The relationship between the two sisters-in-law was a complex one and she essayed her part beautifully warm, loving, petulant, childlike and tyrannical in turns. She brought alive every aspect. I missed watching her on stage, but heard many stories of what a force she was in theatre,” she shares.

Producer-director N Chandra, who worked with the late actress in the hardhitting drama Ankush, describes her as “evergreen” because age didn’t seem to touch her. He informs that he saw her in the Marathi play Mahananda, in which she played the lead. “Some performances stay with you and you know you have to work with the actor,” says Chandra, adding that when he was casting for Ankush, he knew only she could play the pivotal part of the grandmother. “She was so spontaneous you didn’t know how she would react during the shot. She made the grandmother’s role memorable and had the audience fall in love with her character.”

Renuka Shahane, who played Ashalata’s daughter in the TV serial Kora Kagaz, admits it’s hard to accept the news she’s gone. “From theatre to films and TV, she’d been through the whole gamut and had great presence and timing. On a personal level, she was so warm and always kept in touch, even though we hadn’t worked together in years. She would call and bless me on my birthday,” she says emotionally, adding that even on the set she was very maternal with the younger actors, insisting they eat well and not over-exert themselves.

Ajinkya Deo who collaborated with the actress in the Marathi film Maherchi Sadi, had known her from when she had worked with his parents, Ramesh and Seema. In this film she played his mother and they shot in and around Pune. “I remember during the motorcycle accident track, where I lose my left hand, she asked the director Vijay Kondke to do a small puja for my safety and well-being. I wish she had not gone to Satara, but that’s an actor’s life. We’ve lost a gem of a person and a very fine actress. May her soul rest in peace,” he concludes. 

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We had known each other for over 35 years and did several projects together as mother and daughter, including Maherchi Sadi (1991), which was a milestone in both our careers. That bond extended beyond the screen to the extent that she would call my husband her son-in-law.

She was an independent and disciplined woman who even at 83, didn’t require any kind of medication and joined us in Satara for the shoot of my Marathi serial, Aai Mazi Kalubai, a month ago. Since she was a senior citizen, as per government requirement, she had given us in writing that she was shooting by choice. The whole unit had taken Covid-19 tests before coming on location and all SOPs were followed on the set. But such is the unpredictability of this virus that 22 members tested positive after reporting to work about a week ago. They all recovered within five days but are still home quarantined. In Ashalata ji’s case, though the spirit was strong, age was a deterrent.

My husband and I were with her in the hospital for the last four days. Till Monday evening, she was doing well and we were hopeful that she would be up and walking soon. She was even asking for her favourite dishes and had warned me a day ago not to intimate anyone from her family. She even said that in a worst-case scenario, we should perform her last rites.

She was put on a ventilator on Monday night after her oxygen levels fell drastically and passed away early on Tuesday at around 4.45 am. Her family couldn’t come due to the ongoing pandemic and told us to cremate her in Satara and not bring her body down to Mumbai. I’m honoured I could fulfil her last wish given that she was like a mother to me. I just wish we could have saved her. The only consolation is that she passed away doing what she loved most.

—As told to Akash Bhatnagar