Gritty village belle Kalyani Singh of 'Udaan' fame passes away

Amritsar: TV actor Kavita Chaudhary, who was known popularly as the star of the Doordarshan serial 'Udaan', passed away at a hospital here following cardiac arrest on Thursday night. She was 67. In 'Udaan', she played IPS officer Kalyani Singh.

Besides starring in 'Udaan', she wrote and directed the serial, which was inspired by the life of her elder sister and police officer Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya. 'Udaan', which also starred Shekhar Kapur, revolved around the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. The critically-acclaimed show, which inspired a generation of women to pursue public service, was brought back on Doordarshan for a re-run during the pandemic.

The actor, also popular as the homemaker Lalita ji in the Surf detergent commercials in India in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago.

"She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later," Ajay Sayal, Chaudhary's nephew, told PTI.

The last rites were held here on Friday morning. The actor is survived by Sayal and her niece. Actor Amit Behl was one of the colleagues who paid condolences on Chaudhary's demise.

"RIP Kavita Chaudhary, is baar aapne lambi udaan bhar li,Naman @CintaaOfficial @nsd_india," he wrote on X. Later, Chaudhary produced Doordarshan shows 'Your Honour' and 'IPS Diaries'.
(With PTI inputs)