Veteran Theatre artist Atmaram Bhende cremated at Pune

09 Feb, Pune

Veteran theatre artiste and film actor, Atmaram Bhende, considered the doyen of Marathi experimental theatre was cremated Monday at Vaikuntha crematorium Pune. He passed away at a private hospital in Pune last Saturday at the age of 91.

Born in May 1923, Bhende, a qualified engineer from Mumbai’s prestigious Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute graced the Marathi stage for more than six decades.

He also appeared in English plays and translated two of the great American playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder’s plays into Marathi. While directing and acting in hundreds of Marathi plays, Bhende appeared in Rajkumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munnabhai as one of the senior citizens who come to live in Vidya Balan’s home. In this movie also his name was Aatmaram. Apart from film and theatre, Bhende was also involved in TV shows. He has acted in serials like ‘Awhan’ and ‘Chunouti’.

He was married to Dr. Asha Bhende erstwhile Lily Ezekiel, the sister of the famous Indian-Jewish poet Nissim Ezekiel. While his wife had passed away in 2010, his son, the rocker Nandu Bhende, died of a cardiac arrest in April last year. His last rights were performed today by his grandson.