Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to name a street in Andheri West in honour of late National Award-winning actor-director Vikram Chandrakant Gokhale on his first death anniversary on November 26, officials said here on Saturday.
The street is adjacent to the new headquarters of Cine & Television Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) and CAWT, which was inaugurated last month, and leads to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the presence of the late actor’s wife Vrushali Vikram Gokhale, a galaxy of Bollywood and Marathi film personalities and political leaders, will perform the road-naming ceremony on Sunday.
Gokhale, who passed away last year aged 77, was a past President of CINTAA (2017-2022) when he contributed immensely to the welfare of CINTAA artistes and even donated one-acre land to the premiere association.
CINTAA General Secretary Amit Behl said that “Gokhale will be remembered for his overpowering histrionics and humanitarian initiatives, both for the association and the Marathi film industry”.
Hailing from a family of artistes acting since four generations spanning the past 110 years, Gokhale was the great-grandson of Indian film industry’s first woman actress, the legendary Durgabai Kamat-Gokhale, who died in Pune aged 117 in 1997.
Durgabai was cast as the first-ever female lead in “Mohini Bhasmasur” (1913), the second film made by the Father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, alias Dadasaheb Phalke, who created history with his maiden feature film, “Raja Harishchandra” (1913).
Incidentally, Durgabai’s daughter Kamala became the first female child actress in the same film (“Mohini Bhasmasur”), and the mother-daughter duo is credited with starting the trend of women acting in films 110 years ago, something that was considered a taboo then.
A veteran of stage, television and films, the Pune-born Gokhale’s film career started with “Parwana” and “Mai Mauli” (Hindi and Marathi, respectively, both released in 1971).
Over the years, he essayed prominent roles in several major films like “Yehi Hai Zindagi” (1977), “Prem Bandhan” (1979), “Insaaf” (1987), “Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro”, “Elaan-e-Jung” and “Eeshwar” (1989), “Agneepath” and “Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaye” (1990), “Khuda Gawah” (1992), “Laadla” (1994), “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” (1999), “Love At Times Square” (2003), “Lucky: No Time For Love” (2005), “De Dana Dan” (2009), “Ab Tak Chhappan-2” (2015), “Traffic” (2016), “Hichki” (2018), and “Mission Mangal” (2019), among others.
He also acted in scores of major Marathi films, some Gujarati movies and was a familiar name in Marathi and Hindi theatre circuit and was seen in important roles in several television serials in both languages as well.
Gokhale was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2011), National Award (2012), Chitra Bhushan Award (2015-2017) of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) of Maharashtra government, and also a Marathi Filmfare Award (2017).
—IANS