92-year-old veteran actor Shreeram Lagoo's last rites on Friday

Pune, Dec 18: The last rites of veteran actor Shriram Lagoo will be performed here on Friday, a family member said. The 92-year-old theatre stalwart died at his Pune residence on Tuesday evening after suffering a cardiac arrest. His last rites were earlier supposed to be held on Thursday.

However, since the late actor's son Anand Lagoo, who is in the US, will not be able to reach here on Thursday, the funeral will now be held on Friday, a family member said. "The mortal remains of Lagoo will be kept at the Balgandharva auditorium here on Friday morning for people to pay their last respects to him," he said.

Born in Satara in 1927 and a trained as an ENT surgeon by profession, Shriram Lagoo played an important role in the growth of theatre movement in Maharashtra and was known for his progressive and rationalist views. After quitting practice 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. He essayed memorable roles in Bollywood films like "Ek Din Achanak", "Gharonda", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" and "Laawaris". He played Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi".