Revision as of 08:04, 3 November 2014

Sadashiv Amrapurkar

The man

Sadashiv Amrapurkar: Lesser known facts The Times of India

Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar marked a niche not only in the entertainment industry but also in the society as a responsible citizen. The actor was remembered for his power-packed performance in the film Sadak. The actor was known for playing villianious roles in Bollywood and was equally appreciated for his cameos and comedy roles. Here are a few lesser known facts about the seasoned actor.

Born and brought in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family, Sadashiv Amrapurkar was fondly called Tatya by his family and close friends. He was always socially inclined and had worked towards the betterment of those less fortunate from a very young age. Sadashiv Amrapurkar was married to his high school sweetheart, Sunanda Karmarkar. Be it in school or college, Sadashiv was always interested in acting.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar was a philanthropist, social activist, and was engaged in a number of social organizations like Samajik Krutadnyata Nidhi, Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, Snehalaya, Lokshahi Prabodhan Vyaspeeth, Ahmednagar Aitihasik Vastu Sangrahalaya and many others. He had always had a soft spot for the rural youth and strives for their development.

His negative role in 1991 film Sadak was so appreciated and talked about that he won a Filmfare award for the role 'Rani' (a eunuch, who runs a brothel). It might come as a surprise that the award for best actor in Negative role was also bestowed upon him. Amrapurkar, who bagged the first Filmfare Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role that year was awarded to acknowledge his performance.

Mahesh Bhatt had narrated the character of Maharani to Sadashiv Amrapurkar at Filmcity. He also warned Sadashiv that his character might fail. Even then, Sadashiv accepted the offer. He had acted in almost 300 movies including Hindi, Marathi,Bengali, Oriya and Haryanvi language films.

In 1981, Amrapurkar acted in a Marathi play Hands-Up! along with stage actors Avinash Masurekar and Bhakti Barve-Inamdar. This play was a super-hit and Amrapurkar was noticed by director Govind Nihalani who was searching for an artiste to play the central negative character in his film Ardh Satya. The movie went on to be a hit and Amrapurkar's acting was appreciated.

For Ardha Satya, Sadashiv Amrapurkar won his first acting award. Though it was not the best actor award, he was awarded the best supporting role in the movie Ardh-Satya. After that film, Amrapurkar starred in small roles in films such as Purana Mandir, Nasoor, Muddat, Veeru Dada, Jawani, and Farishtay. In 1987, he starred as the main villain in Dharamendra starrer Hukumat which went on to be a blockbuster that grossed even more than Mr. India. Amarapurkar became the lucky mascot for Dharamendra and thereafter they both starred in several movies.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar's daughter Reema Amrapurkar was an aspiring Bollywood director who had just directed a short movie. It was also heard that the lady was eyeing the small screen and had some plans to produce a show for TV. Sadashiv Amrapurkar of late had also featured in a TV show titled Shobha Somnath Ki with a power-packed performance for which the actor was appreciated from all over the small screen industry.

Seasoned actor like Sadashiv Amrapurkar went missing from the industry. The actor who once ruled the industry with portraying power packed negative roles was rarely seen on screen. With number of villainous and comic roles under his belt, he was the closest competitor that the likes of Kadar Khan and Anupam Kher once had.

In his long career, he had won two Filmfare awards - in 1984, he won the award for the best supporting actor for "Ardh Satya" and in 1991, the best villain trophy for his portrayal of a ruthless eunuch in "Sadak".

Amrapurkar died in November 2014.