Veteran actress and dancer Madhumati, who was popular for her dance numbers and for teaching dance, has died at the age of 87. She was known to be an incredible artist and was even compared to legendary performers of her time, such as Helen.
Tributes pour in as Madhumati passes away
Actor Vindu Dara Singh took to X to confirm the news and share his condolences. He shared a photo of the late actress and wrote, “Rest in peace, our teacher and guide #Madhumati ji. A beautiful life led, filled with love and blessings from so many of us who learnt dancing from this legend.”
Akshay Kumar also paid tribute by sharing pictures with the late actress and penned an emotional note. He wrote, “My first and forever guru. Everything I know about dance, I learnt at your feet, Madhumati ji. Har ada, har expression mein aapki yaad hamesha saath rahegi. Om Shanti.”
About Madhumati
Madhumati was born in Maharashtra in 1938. She began her career as a dancer in 1957 in an unreleased Marathi film. She was passionate about dance from an early age, and was trained in Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Manipuri, and Kathakali. She is known for her appearance in films such as Ankhen, Tower House, Shikari, Mujhe Jeene Do.
She acted in more than 70 films across Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. Many even compared her style, grace, and screen presence to that of Helen, who is regarded as one of the most famous dancer-actresses in Indian cinema. Madhumati took a break from films in 1977 and later made a brief comeback around 2001.
Madhumati was married to Deepak Manohar, a respected dancer, when she was just 19. Notably, Deepak was considerably older than her and the father of four children. His wife had died earlier. Although Madhumati`s mother admired Deepak, she was hesitant about her daughter marrying him. Nonetheless, Madhumati married him, against the wishes of her mother.
Following her husband’s death in 2002, the actress and dancer devoted herself more to teaching dance. She established and ran the Madhumati Dance Academy in Mumbai. Many individuals in the film and dance community considered her not only a performer but also a mentor.