Sadashiv Amrapukar, Bollywood actor who’s known for his amazing performances in both villainous and comic roles, who was being treated for lung infection at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH), passed away this morning. The actor had been hospitalised two weeks ago for lung infection but succumbed to it. Fondly known as Tatya by his family and friends, he was a well known figure who acted in both Hindi and Marathi films. In his career, he has 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.

Born as Ganesh Kumar Narwode to an auto driver in Nasik in 1956, he adopted the name Sadashiv in 1974. Fondly known as Tatya in his family and friend circle, Amrapurkar grew up in Ahmednagar with his parents and a younger brother.

He was a trained singer but was advised that his highly nasal baritone would prevent him from achieving fame – so at the age of 21, Sadashiv migrated to theatre and the stage. He acted in more than 50 plays and also began to act in minor roles in Marathi cinema until in 1979.

In 1981-82, Amrapurkar acted in a Marathi stage play Hands Up! alongside 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 movie Ardh Satya

With his sad demise, the Hindi film fraternity condoles his death and many celebrities took to social media to pay their respects.

Film maker Mahesh Bhatt, who worked with Sadashiv Amrapurkar in Sadak, was also saddened by this news. He posted, “Goodbye Sadashiv Amrapurkar you made a difference to my life. What would SADAK be without Maharani. Thank you dost.”

I am so saddened to know about the demise of a fine human being & a wonderful actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar. He was a kind & a learned man. RIP”, Anupam Kher tweeted.

The very versatile actor acted in more than 300 movies in Hindi, Marathi,Bengali, Oriya, Haryanvi.  While paying condolences, Amitabh Bacchan tweeted , “T 1664 – When a colleague suddenly passes away there is a sudden vacuum, of times spent together, of acknowledgement of their work ..Waking up in Kolkata to the sad news of the passing away of Sadasiv Amrapurkar .. a colleague and a gifted talent .. prayers !!”