Sarita Joshi
Sarita Joshi ("née" Bhosle) (born 17 October 1941) is an Indian stage, television and film actress and is a veteran actress of Gujarati theatre and Marathi theatre and also Marathi cinema. In 2020, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, by the Government of India for her contribution to arts. She is widely remembered for her role as Godavari Labhshankar Thakkar a.k.a. Baa in the Star Plus hit dramedy Baa Bahoo Aur Baby, for which she won many awards. She is known for her Gujarati plays done with her husband Pravin Joshi in the  1970s. In 1988, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in Gujarati by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. In 2020, she has been awarded with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award for her contribution in Art. She was recently seen in (2019) Zee TV's "Hamari Bahu Silk" as a hard-working business woman who hates films especially 'A' grade films . Sarita Joshi is currently seen on "" a prequel web series to Star Plus show "Anupamaa" as Rupali Ganguly portraying Anupamaa's grandmother-in-law and Arvind Vaidya  portraying Hasmukh's mother Moti Baa, with whom she worked in Star Plus show Baa Bahoo Aur Baby where she was played mother and wife to Ganguly and Vaidya's characters respectively. Early life. Sarita was born in a middle class Marathi family in Pune, though she grew up in Vadodara. Her father, Bhimrao Bhosle, was a barrister and mother, Kamlabai Rane, was from Goa. She began acting on stage at the age of nine along with her sister Padmarani, due to financial problems that her family found itself in. Though she started with traditional theatre, she soon started working  with noted artists like Shanta Apte. She is often confused with her sister, Padmarani, who is also an actress. Career. After working as child actor for six years, Joshi got her first lead role at age 16. She went to act with Indian National Theatre Gujarati, and it was here that she met her future husband Pravin Joshi. She made television debut in the 1980s, with the TV series, "Titliyan" (Butterflies), directed by Nadira Babbar, followed by numerous series in the 90s, including, Zee TV's "Zee TV's Hasratein". She is best known for portraying Baa aka Godavari Labhshankar  Thakkar a tough yet fair and loving matriarch in the household hit serial "Baa Bahoo Aur Baby" in which she was cast opposite a renowned theatre, film and television actor Arvind Vaidya with whom she also did the play named Masala Mami, which stopped on 28 March 2009 for a temporary seasonal break, but was renewed on popular demand. It is a popular show among masses and is still loved by the audience and are waiting for its next season. It ran for five years on television owing to its cast, storyline and performances. In 2009, Joshi played in the  serial "Kuchh Kook Hota Hai" as Rani on 9X. Joshi played Asha Parekh's friend in the movie "Kanyadaan" in 1968 and also appeared in the song "Mil Gaye Milgaye Aaj Mere Sanam" from the same film. Joshi played Vijayanthimala's friend in the movie "Pyar Hi Pyar" in 1969. She also portrayed Abhishek Bachchan's mother in "Guru", directed by filmmaker Mani Ratnam. She also played a central character in the 2008 movie "Dasvidaniya". Joshi then travelled to the United States that year to be part of the crossover film, "Bollywood Beats", starring alongside "Lilette Dubey" and "Pooja Kumar , in a film directed by Mehul Shah". Out of all the mediums, she holds a special corner for theatre and stage performances. She claims that the joy of performing on stage is any time better than anything else and that theatre will always be her first love. She stars in Star Plus' "Chand Chupa Badal Mein", which is produced by Rajan Shahi as the caring, confident grandmother of female lead Nivedita, played by Neha Sargam. Her film "Gangoobai" has been released in theatres in January 2013 in which she plays the protagonist. She appeared in "Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi" in  2015 as female lead (Radhika Madan's) grandmother aka Hansa Govardhan Parekh. She was also seen playing the character of Lalita Swamy "Amma" and as "daadi maa"in the episodic story 9 saal ki dadi maa in Sab TV's serial "Khidki". She played the character of "Bakula - the lead role" in the &TV serial "Bakula Bua Ka Bhoot" in 2017.She also played cameo as Champa "Kaki" in (2005-2006) Star Plus's "Khichdi Returns". She played the character of Subhadra in the Colors TV show "Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka" (2018). She was seen in Zee TV's "Hamari Bahu Silk  (2019) in pivotal role as Aruna Parekh aka Baa— a wealthy and hardworking business woman who hates films especially 'A' grade films, she was also reunited with her onscreen son (Subodh) played by Rajesh Kumar in Baa Bahoo Aur Baby" after 9 years on television. Personal life. Joshi was married to theatre director and playwright Pravin Joshi. She is the mother of actresses Ketki Dave, who played the role of Daksha in "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and of Purbi Joshi, who appears on "Comedy Circus" as a host. Aruna Irani is her sister's niece from husband side . Her niece is Manasi Joshi Roy (wife of Rohit Roy) and nephew is actor Sharman Joshi (son in law of Prem Chopra), son of theatre veteran Arvind Joshi. Awards. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India. In 1988, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in Gujarati. In 2007, for her role as Godavari Labhshankar Thakkar in "Baa Bahoo Aur Baby", she was awarded a Best Actress in a Drama award by the IDEA Indian Television Academy Awards. Other awards include: Sarita