She passed away at the age of 81 in Mumbai on February 15, 2008. Her brilliant portrayal of a cunning mother-in-law in films like 'Ek Phool Do Maali', 'Do Kaliyaan' and 'Seeta Aur Geeta' casts a towering shadow on the silver screen despite her stout frame. Manorama has mostly appeared as the cigarette-smoking sophisticated lady ready to cast an evil spell on the hero or heroine.

Manorama: You might remember her for playing a cynical aunt or the torturing mother-in-law in old Hindi movies.

The actress died on Februin Aundh, Pune, leaving behind a huge legacy. Her other notable works 'Junglee', 'Phool Aur Patthar', 'Nauker', 'Sau Din Saas Ke' (of course, had to be!) and 'Ghar Sansar'. A brilliant actress, she was one of the most popular heroines of her time, but resorted to essaying supporting roles after losing an eye in an accident during a film shoot. If you remember words like 'Kulta', 'Kamini', 'Kalmuhi' and 'Karamjali', then you should thank Pawar for she is the one who etched these words on the celluloid not to forget that she holds the Guinness world record of longest acting career spanning over 70 years. Lalita Pawar: The OG! Lalita Pawar's portrayal of a cruel mother-in-law can not be matched upto till date even by the finest of actresses. Here are some of the actresses who have essayed the roles of mother-in-laws, vamps and gangster moll under the umbrella of negative characters, with aplomb. The digital age has rendered more substance to the female characters with even the female protagonists having grey shades but there was a time when Bollywood had stereotypical portrayal of women.Īnd, there have been actresses, who mastered the craft of portraying characters such as that of mother-in-laws, vamps and gangster moll with absolute finesse, so much that these actresses became synonymous with those parts. The portrayal of women in Hindi cinema has undergone a sea change compared to an era gone by.

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