President Patil condoles death of noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar

New Delhi, May 19 : President Pratibha Patil today condoled the passing away of noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar.

In her condolence message, Patil said that Tendulkar was not only an acknowledged figure in Indian literature, but had also helped Marathi and all of Indian theatre attain recognition at the international level.

The President also said that his work expressed the realities of our time.

Tendulkar, who passed away here this morning, was 80-years-old.

He was suffering from myasthenia gravis, a debilitating muscular disorder and was undergoing treatment at the Prayag Hospital in Pune for the past five weeks.

Born on January 6, 1928, Tendulkar was a leading movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist and social commentator. He was most known for his plays, Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe (1967), GhAshiram Kotwal (1972) and Sakharam Binder (1972).

Tendulkar won Maharashtra State Government awards in 1956, 1969 and 1972, and Maharashtra Gauruw Puraskar in 1999.

He was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1970, and again in 1998 with the Academy's highest award for "lifetime-contribution", the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.

In 1984, he received Padma Bhushan award for his literary accomplishments.

In 1977, Tendulkar won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for his screenplay of Shyam Benegal's movie, Manthan (1976). He has written screenplays for some of the important art movies, such as Nishant, Akrosh, and Ardh Satya.

ANI