Veteran character actor Ramesh Deo passes away at 93
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Feb, 2022 03:10 PM
Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) Veteran Bollywood and Marathi cinema actor, director and producer, Ramesh Deo, whom film buffs will remember for his roles in hits such as 'Anand' and 'Mere Apne', died here of a heart attack on Wednesday.
Deo was 93. He was not keeping well for some days, his son and well-known Marathi actor Ajinkya informed the media.
He leaves behind his wife, Seema, also an actor, and two sons, Ajinkya and Abhinay, the film director who helmed 'Game' and 'Delhi Belly'.
The handsome actor, born in Amravati, Maharashtra, on January 30, 1926, celebrated his 93rd birthday three days ago and a number of his well-wishers went on Twitter to celebrate the fact.
The character actor is best remembered by Hindi film fans for his role of a doctor in 'Anand' (1971), the Hrishikesh Mukherjee film starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, and in Gulzar's 'Mere Apne' (1971), where Meena Kumari, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha played the lead characters.
Over five decades, Deo essayed a number of roles in a wide range of Hindi films, right up to 'Jolly LLB' (the black comedy with Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani) in 2013 and Sunny Deol's 'Ghayal Once Again' in 2016.
Deo's main love, however, remained Marathi cinema. His debut film, where he had a cameo, was 'Patlachi Por' in 1951. His actual innings in a lead role started with 'Andhala Magto Ek Dola' in 1956.
Deo worked in more than 250 films, produced over a dozen of them and directed several others. He had several awards to his credit, including the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 11th Pune International Film Festival in 2013.
From singers like Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik, Javed Ali, rapper Mika Singh to Bollywood celebs Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, actress Soniya Kapoor and many more will be entertaining the audience with their songs and different acts.
Set in the backdrop of the 1971 War, with India backing freedom fighters in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against Pakistan's oppression, and Pakistan attempting to forcefully bring India to the negotiating table by advancing across our western borders, this film is expected to stir the spirit of patriotism.
Industry legends Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Padmini Kolhapure, Anil Agarwal, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher, Alka Yagnik, and Shabbir Kumar have lent their voices for the song.
The audience will get to see her in a never-seen-before avatar performing extreme physical training routines alongside the Veerangana Force, India's first female commando unit to tackle rising crime against women in the state.
Shot by ace photographer Taras Taraporvala, the ad features Malhotra with a ghastly 'cut' on her face seemingly made by an 'ankus' (a sharp-edged device used to control elephants), asking her fans to "try to relate" to the animal's fate by never riding an elephant. Her hairstyling and make-up were done by Natasha Mathias.
