Reema Lagoo

Biography

Reema Lagoo (born Nayan Bhadbhade; Bombay, 21 June 1958 – Mumbai, 18 May 2017) was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre, sometimes called the 'Mother of Bollywood' in the media. She became best known for playing the mothers of leading characters, a type of role that made her a familiar face in Hindi cinema during the 1990s and early 2000s.

She began her career in Marathi theatre, the same world in which her mother, the actress Mandakini Bhadbhade, worked. After a long break from the stage she returned to Mumbai, and she made her film debut in 1979 with the Marathi film Sinhasan. Her move into Hindi cinema came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), in which she played Juhi Chawla's mother, and she built on it with commercial hits such as Saajan and Rangeela. She worked alongside stars including Sridevi and Akshay Kumar, though she was rarely the lead. She also took some non-maternal roles, such as a dancer in Aakrosh (1980) and a cold-hearted businesswoman in Yeh Dillagi (1994).

On television she became very popular in the comedies Shriman Shrimati, where she played Kokila Kulkarni, and Tu Tu Main Main, as Devaki Verma, a role that won her an Indian Telly Award for best actress in a comic role. In Marathi cinema she received the state award for best actress for Reshamgaath (2002).

Outside acting she worked for about ten years at the Union Bank of India. She was married to the actor Vivek Lagoo, and she was the mother of Mrunmayee Lagoo, who also works as an actress and theatre director. She died in Mumbai on 18 May 2017 from cardiac arrest. Her legacy lives on mainly in her television comedies and in the family roles that gave depth to many successful films.

Key films

• Saajan (1991): plays a mother in one of the big romantic productions of its era.
• Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994): one of the decade's biggest hits, with a central family role.
• Rangeela (1995): plays the mother of Urmila Matondkar's character, in a film that was the year's top earner.
• Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998): appears in one of the most remembered romantic comedies of Hindi cinema.
• Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003): one of her later major mother roles in Bollywood.