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

social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

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 an Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marathi. His Marathi plays established him as a writ ...

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 Br̥hatkathā and Thomas Mann's retelling of Transposed Heads. Its twin play is '' Nagamandala'' (1988). Hay ...

'' (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-oriented ...

. 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 (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was 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. H ...

'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 (born 4 June 1947) is an Indian actor and comedian, known for his work in Marathi and Hindi films along with theatre in both languages. Saraf has received several awards including eleven Maharashtra State Film Awards and four Filmfar ...

, Ravindra Mahajani and

Mahesh Kothare Mahesh Ambar Kothare (Marathi pronunciation: əɦeːʃ koʈʰaːɾe born 28 September 1953) is an Indian film actor, director and producer of Marathi and Hindi films. He is regarded as a revolutionary figure in the Marathi film industry, know ...

. She also appears opposite to

Anant Nag 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 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...

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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

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