When you say the name Sadashiv Amrapurkar, the image that immediately leaps to mind is that of Maharani, the sari-clad, bindi-wearing eunuch who ran the brothel in Mahesh Bhatt's Sadak (1991). Speaking about him, an emotional Mahesh Bhatt, who helmed the film, says, “There are very few films in this country where you mention the name of the villain before that of the hero, heroine or the maker.“

64-year-old Amrapurkar passed away at about 2:40 am on Monday. He is survived by his wife Sunanda and his daughter, Rima.

Bhatt further adds, “Sadashiv was a very rooted person who chose to walk his own path on his own terms. A man of the world, he was very informed and had his own unique view on complex issues. Unlike his villainous portrayals on screen, in real life he was a very gentle, refined and cultured person, a very easy actor to work with. He added that sparkle to my career and I thank him immensely . So, without him, I wouldn't have got where Sadak took me.“

Bhatt also revealed that when he visualised the character of Maharani, he hadn't thought of dressing the character in a sari. “It was Sadashiv who wondered how could there be a hijra without a sari?“ said Bhatt.Adding, “He halted the shoot and got dressed in a sari. He gave his blood to the role and that's why we still mention him after he's gone.“ The 64-year-old Maharashtrian actor who first made his mark as don Rama Shetty in Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya (1983) had also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in that year. For nearly three decades, Amrapurkar stayed integral to Hindi cinema because he was so believable in his screen appearances, never mind whether he played good or bad. The actor passed away at about 2.40 am on Monday, November 3. He had been undergoing treatment for a lung infection for the last few days in a Mumbai hospital and was put on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit around October 21. A family friend who visited him last week, said “The doctors had maintained he was critical though he himself indicated that he was feeling better during the last few days. But his condition worsened on Sunday.“

On Monday morning, Amrapurkar's body was moved to Bhaidas Hall in Vile Parle, where it was kept till late afternoon for industry persons to pay their last respects to him.Later, it was to be taken to Ahmednagar for the funeral, which will happen today.

Born on May 11, 1950 as Ganesh Kumar Narwode in an affluent Maharashtrian Brahmin family of Ahmednagar, he adopted the name Sadashiv Amrapurkar in 1974 when he forayed into theatre. Interestingly, the Best Actor in a Negative Role award was first introduced to acknowledge his villainous performance in Sadak. The actor also gave noteworthy performances in the movies of the 90s like Hukumat, Aankhen, Ishq, Gupt and many others. He was last seen in Bombay Talkies (2013). Actor Om Puri says that he had to work really hard to match up to the performance of his co-star and “strong“ actor Sadashiv while filming Ardh Satya. “I remember when the whole team of Ardh Satya went to Ahmedabad for an event post the release of the film, Sadashiv got more claps than me. He was flawless. Just that he couldn't overcome his Marathi accent,“ says Puri, who learnt about Sadashiv's death while travelling in a train to Rajasthan through a co-passenger, early Monday morning.

Recalling her experience with the man who terrorised her in Sadak, Pooja Bhatt says, “I distinctly remember the car park sequence where Sadashiv was singing the song Chhupa Chhuppi. I have not seen a sweeter villain than him. He was anything but Maharani in real life. He was a thorough gentleman and extremely kind.“ The actress-turned-filmmaker also added, “I wish I was in touch with him when he was alive. His death has reinstated in me that I need to reach out to people who have played an important role in my life and not regret when they have gone.“

After watching Amrapurkar's play Hands Up! in which the actor played a comic cop, Nihalani who can rightfully be called Amrapurkar's godfather because it was he who introduced him to Hindi cinema in Ardh Satya says, “I saw him in Hands Up! and was truly impressed with him. The writer of Ardh Satya, Vijay Tendulkar arranged a meeting between Sadashiv and me. I was struck by his eyes; they were always alert. His look was purposeful with a bit of mischief as well. I watched his play and halfway through decided to cast him in a villain's role of that of a don. I felt that if his comedy was good, he would also excel in a negative role, and he went on to play the iconic character Rama Shetty in my film.“

“Sadashiv was easy going, friendly and compassionate,“ he trails off, remembering the man who gave villainy a new dimension in the 80s. 

Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who had been critically ill and has been on the ventilator for the last six days, is stable now. Best known for his performances in films like Ardh Satya (1984) and Sadak (1991), the 64-year-old actor was admitted in an Andheri West hospital 11 days ago after being diagnosed with lung infection. He then had to be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit when his condition turned critical.

Amrapurkar's daughter Rima said, “He is showing signs of improvement after some change in the line of treatment. Hope he will be on his way to recovery soon.“ It's not yet clear how long he will take to recuperate, but the priority of the doctors is to get him off the ventilator support.
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Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 27, 2014)

Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who was admitted to hospital two weeks ago, continues to be on life support.“But he has shown signs of improvement and has been responding to treatment since Sunday afternoon. Let's hope he gets well soon,“ says his daughter Reema.

The 64-year-old actor is suffering from severe lung infection. His condition took a turn for the worse three days ago. “He has developed fibroids in his lungs and has difficulty in breathing. On Saturday, the doctors told us they couldn't do much. But now he is stable,“ she adds.

Memorable for the negative roles he played, Amrapukar has won two Filmfare Awards-Best Supporting Actor for Ardh Satya and Best Actor in a Negative Role for Sadak in which he played Maharani, the eunuch who runs a brothel.

He was last seen in Bombay Talkies. He played Nawazuddin Siddiqui's mentor from the stage in Star, a short story directed by Dibakar Banerjee.