Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar dead

Pune, May 19 (IANS) Noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar died Monday at his residence here after prolonged illness. He was 80 years old.

Family sources said Tendulkar died at about 8 a.m. He had been unwell for the past two months.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Tendulkar was best known for his plays 'Ghashiram Kotwal' and 'Sakharam Binder'. He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement.

In 1977, Tendulkar won the National Film Award for his screenplay of Shyam Benegal's movie 'Manthan'. He also wrote the screenplays for other critically acclaimed films like 'Nishant', 'Akrosh' and 'Ardh Satya'.