Ashalata’s stoic act as grandmother of Neesha Singh, who plays a rape victim in ‘Ankush’, embodied the song ‘Itni shakti hamein dena daata’.
She was the supportive sister-in-law to Shabana Azmi in ‘Apne Paraye’ and ‘Swami’, and to Smita Patil in ‘Umbartha’, with their children gravitating to her warm persona for bedtime stories and lullabies. Eminent Hindi director Hrishikesh Mukherjee offered her role in his movie, ‘Apne Paraye’, along with Amol Palekar and Girish Karnad. Known as a character actress, Ashalata played a plethora of roles. She had performed with Pu La Deshpande in ‘Varyawarchi Warat’. Over the course of her prolific career, Ashalata was associated with all major and prestigious theatre companies like The Goa Hindu Association, Chandralekha, Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh and Abhijat. She also played character roles in dramas like ‘Raygadala Jewha Jaag Yete’, ‘Garambicha Bapu’ and ‘Bhaubandki’. Later, she also performed in ‘Sangeet Bhavbandhan’, written by the late Ram Ganesh Gadkari. Ashalata’s rise to fame came with her role in ‘Sangeet Matsyagandha’, written by the late Vasant Kanetkar. She had major roles in famous Marathi plays like ‘Sangeet Sharda’, ‘Sangeet Mruchhakatik’, ‘Vidushak’, ‘Garudzep’ and ‘Good Bye Doctor’. Known for her magical voice, she was closely associated with musical Marathi theatre too. Ashalata made her debut in Marathi theatre as a teenager in ‘Sangeet Sanshaykallol’, a humorous play written by the late playwright, Govind Ballal Deval. She used to sing Konkani songs on All India Radio, Mumbai, before she was spotted by Marathi theatre veterans. Her love for music brought her to theatre initially and later to screen. She learnt music from the late Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki. Hailing from Goa, Ashalata shifted to Mumbai when she was in school. KOLHAPUR: Veteran actor Ashalata Wabgaonkar, who died of Covid-19 on Tuesday, carved out a name for herself as a character actor par excellence over a career spanning over six decades.