Dr. Shreeram Lagoo
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A brief biography
Note: The spelling Shreeram has been verified from the credit titles of ‘Gharaonda.’
Lagoo was born in Satara in 1927, trained as an ENT surgeon by profession and played an important role in the growth of theatre movement in Maharashtra in post-Independence era alongside Vijay Tendulkar, Vijaya Mehta and Arvind Deshpande.
According to his acclaimed autobiography 'Lamaan' (A porter), theatre bug bit Lagoo when he was in school and he became a part of Progressive Drama Group, a non-commercial group of theatre lovers when he was in B J Medical College, Pune.
Lagoo, however, did not become a commercial actor until he reached his 40s. He became a surgeon and worked in a hospital in Kenya for some years. After quitting practise and becoming a full-time actor, he tasted commercial success with V Shantaram's 'Pinjra' (1972).
As an actor, his roles in Marathi plays such as 'Natsamrat' and 'Himalayachi Saoli', and films like 'Pinjra' made him popular.
In Bollywood, Lagoo essayed memorable roles in films like 'Ek Din Achanak', 'Gharonda', 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' and 'Laawaris'. He played Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi'.
Lagoo, affectionately known in theatre circles as 'Doctor', was also known for his progressive and rationalist views.
A Marathi article written by him for the daily Maharashtra Times, captioned 'Parmeshwarala Retire Kara' (It's time to send God into retirement) caused much debate.
He was also instrumental in setting up 'Saamajik Krutadnyta Nidhi' (social gratitude fund) for social workers.
Lagoo is survived by his wife, actor Deepa Lagoo, a son and a daughter. His son, Tanveer, died at a young age when a stone hurled by someone hit him while he was travelling by train.
Veteran actor Shriram Lagoo was a stalwart in Marathi theatre and cinema and a prolific character artiste in numerous Bollywood movies.
