Priya Tendulkar (19 October 1954 – 19 September 2002) was an Indian actress,

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

and a writer, who is most known for her eponymous role in the television series '' Rajani'' (1985).

Early life

Priya displayed an inclination towards art and culture from her childhood, as her father was the eminent popular writer and Padma bhushan awardee

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

Career

Her first appearance was as a doll in a stage play called ''

Hayavadana ''Hayavadana'' (''meaning: Horse face'') is a 1971 Indian Kannada language two- act play written by Girish Karnad. The plot is based on Kathasaritsagara and Thomas Mann's retelling of Transposed Heads. Its twin play is ''Nagamandala'' (1988). H ...

'' (1969), along with

Kalpana Lajmi Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Lajmi was an independent filmmaker working more on realistic, low-budget films, which are known in India as parallel cinema. Her films were often woman-oriente ...

. Later, she shuffled between different jobs as a hotel service receptionist in a 5 star hotel, an air hostess, and a part-time model, and also she was a news reader. Her debut film appearance was in

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

's '' Ankur'' (1974), where she played Anant Nag's submissive wife. Thereafter, she switched her interest towards Marathi films and played stellar roles in nearly a dozen Marathi family socials, opposite actors like

Ashok Saraf Ashok Saraf (Hindii pronunciation: �ʃoːk səɾaːf born 4 June 1947) is an Indian film and stage actor and comedian. He has appeared in many Marathi language films and stage plays in lead roles and in Hindi language films and TV serials in ...

Ravindra Mahajani Ravindra Mahajani is a Marathi actor and director. From the late seventies to the mid eighties, Mahajani featured in Marathi films. Career In his early career, he drove taxis and auditioned for films. He created Marathi films until 1987-1988. ...

and

Mahesh Kothare Mahesh Amber Kothare (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɦeːʃ koʈʰaːɾe born 28 September 1953) is an Indian List of Marathi film actors, film actor, List of Indian film directors, director and producer of Marathi cinema, Marat ...

. She also appears opposite to

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

in the Kannada movie '' Minchina Ota'', in an important role. She rose to national fame with her TV series ''Rajani'' (1985), where she played a housewife who can't stand any injustice and solves public social issues. Her portrayal of Rajani made her a household name all over India. Later, she played a role in

's TV series, ''Swayamsiddha''. Priya led a freestyle life wherein she spoke about social issues openly without fear and always expressed her feelings without bias or prejudice. This side of her fiery personality reflected in her talk shows like ''Priya Tendulkar Talk Show'' and ''Zimmedar Kaun''. She also played an important role as actress in a Gujarati movie named ''Pooja Na Phool'', which was a very popular movie of the time. She has also played a role in Hum Panch TV series and she got very famous with that role.

Personal life

She married her ''Rajani'' co-star,

Karan Razdan Karan Razdan (born 25 April 1961) is an Indian actor, writer and director, who works in Bollywood. Career He began his writing career with an unforgettable television show named ‘’Rajni’’ and then wrote produced and made his debut as dir ...

, in 1988 but they separated in 1995.

Death

Priya died following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 19 September 2002 at her Prabhadevi residence after a long battle with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tendulkar, Priya 1954 births 2002 deaths Actresses in Marathi cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian television actresses Indian television talk show hosts Actresses from Mumbai 20th-century Indian actresses Indian women activists Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters