Marathi film and stage actor Nilu Phule died on Monday at a hospital in Pune after a long battle with cancer By Kunal M Shah / Ashwini Deshmukh (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 14, 2009) Veteran Marathi film and stage personality Nilu Phule died at Pune’s Jehangir hospital on Monday morning at 1.50am. He was 80. The actor breathed his last in the hospital where he had been admitted on July 5 for treatment of cancer of the oesophagus.

He is survived by his wife and daughter. The funeral was held in Pune yesterday morning.

Phule had acted in over 130 films, including some Hindi films and many Marathi plays for over four decades. He had also acted in memorable Hindi films like Pinjra, Samna and Sinhasaan. He was best remembered for Coolie, Woh Saat Din, Mashaal, Saaransh and Prem Pratigya.

Remembering Nilu Phule

He was extremely fond of reading English novels-SACHIN PILGAONKAR

Sachin Pilgaokar

I had the opportunity to work with Nilu bhau in 1971 in a film produced by my father. He played a negative role and I was a child artiste. He often stayed with us whenever he was in Mumbai and it was always a pleasant experience to be with him. He had a tremendous voice and carried himself very well. Despite being a star, he never refused to act in stage dramas. He perpetually suffered from colds but he (smartly) incorporated it (the sniffles) in his acting. For instance, he used his voice to his advantage, which might have been a hindrance for any other actor. When I became More >