Veteran actor Nilu Phule passed away on 13th July 2009. He was 79 and was suffering from esophageal cancer. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son in law.
He was the only actor perhaps in the history who blended creatively both Tamasha sensibilities of "Songadya" and of the modern politically committed "Urban" actor. He was a socialist through out his life. He was barely educated and worked as a gardner at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune for many years. He was the most well read actor and very active politically though out his career, being a follower of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
He had acted in more than 200 Marathi films: Samna (1973) Sihasan, Jait Re Jait Directed by Jabbar Patel (all Silver Jubilee Hits). Popularly typecast as a villain, one of Nilu Phule�s best known characters on stage was Sakharam Binder of Vijay Tendulkar�s eponymous play. This 1972 production in which Phule acted, was at the centre of a raging controversy and is one of the earliest known productions to have battled with censorship.
His folk Plays with main roles include Pudhari Pahije (more than 1000 shows), Bin Biyanche Zaad (1000 shows) Vichha Mazi Purikara, Katha Akalechya Kandyachi (more than 1000 shows).
Phule also acted in Hindi films like Coolie, Saransh, Naram Garam, amongst others. He was a recipient of many awards and was also apparently involved with the promotion of folk artistes and traditional art forms.
*Part of this information is courtesy Dr. Satish Alekar.
