New Delhi. After the release of the film Ramayana directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Manthara's character is once again in the headlines. Sheeba Chaddha is playing this role in the film, but the memories of actress Lalita Pawar, who captured the hearts and minds of the audience by playing Manthara in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, are still fresh. With her powerful acting, she gave such identity to this character that people started knowing her more as Manthara than her real name. However, the real life of Lalita Pawar, who played the role of Manthara who conspires in the lives of others on screen, was full of struggles and pain. He had to face many difficulties in his career and in his personal life too, he faced such betrayals from his loved ones due to which his life changed.
Lalita Pawar was born on 18 April 1916 in Nashik, Maharashtra. He was fond of acting since childhood and at the age of just 9, he entered the world of films. Within no time she became a well-known actress of Hindi cinema. In his career spanning over seven decades, he worked in more than 700 films. In the initial period, she was seen as the lead actress and her beauty and acting were much talked about. But in 1942, during the shooting of the film Jang-e-Azadi, an accident changed the direction of his life. While shooting a scene, actor Bhagwan Dada slapped him hard. Due to this injury, his left eye got affected and there was paralysis on his face. Even after long treatment, she could not become the same as before. After this, she started getting supporting and negative roles instead of lead actress.
However, Lalita Pawar did not accept defeat in the face of this accident. He made his acting his strength and played such roles which the audience still remembers. The character of Manthara in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana became the most talked about stage of his career. His voice and facial expressions made this character memorable. But the actress who caught people's attention by playing Manthara on screen, in her personal life it was the relationships that gave her the most pain.
Lalita Pawar's first marriage was to film producer Ganpatrao Pawar. Initially her married life was normal but later she came to know about her husband's affair with her own younger sister. According to media reports, Ganpatrao had married his younger sister for the second time. In this way his own sister became his step-mother. This incident deeply traumatized Lalita Pawar and ultimately she decided to separate from her first marriage. After this she married producer Rajprakash Gupta for the second time. From this relationship his son Jai Pawar was born.
Even at the last stage of her life, Lalita Pawar had to struggle with loneliness and illness. She was diagnosed with cancer and started living in her house in Pune. Her husband was hospitalized while the son lived in Mumbai. He died on 24 February 1998 at the age of 81. It is said that after his death, his body remained lying in the house for about three days. The family became worried when the son called and got no response. After this, with the help of the police, the door of the house was opened and information about his death came to light.
Lalita Pawar may not be among us today but her acting is an invaluable legacy of Indian cinema. The character of Manthara gave her an immortal identity and her life story shows that the personal lives of actors who achieve success and fame on screen are not always full of happiness.