Remembering Viju Khote: 5 iconic roles played by the actor in Marathi cinema

Marathi cinema has certainly lost some of its greatest actors in recent years and recently, the talented actor, Viju Khote has passed away on Monday owing to multiple organ failure at the age of 77. Born in Mumbai, Viju Khote was a renowned Marathi theatre actor before making his debut in Marathi cinema with the film 'Ya Malak'. With hilarious characters in super hit films like 'Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi', 'Ek Unad Diwas', 'Master Eke Master', and many more, the comedian roused to the top in a short span of time.
In an illustrious career spanning for close to five decades, Viju featured in over 300 films as an actor and managed to portray a wide variety of roles opposite several superstars. Especially from 2002 to 2010, he was seen in almost every film and to be frank, he was solely responsible for the success of quite a few.
While Marathi celebs are paying their tributes on social media, let’s remember Viju Khote by going through some of his iconic characters in Marathi cinema.
'Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi'

Sachin Pilgaonkar directed 'Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi' and had Sachin himself teaming up with other prominent Marathi actors like Ashok Saraf and Laxmikant Berde to give the audience a laugh-riot. Viju Khote’s on-screen chemistry with Ashok Saraf was an instant hit among the masses and the duo shared screen space in quite a few films like 'Ventilater', 'Gammat Jammat'. He essayed the role of 'Bali' in 'Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi' and his role as an antagonist during the climax scene will surely the audience on the edge of their seats.
'Adla Badli'

In Mehmood Jr's 2008 film, Viju essayed the role of Ram (businessman) along with his Shaam (Anand Abhyankar) partner, who has an unusual habit to bet with each other on human tendencies. Viju literally delivered one of his best performances on the silver screen. As Ram, the famous actor mouthed some of the best one-liners with a stamping authority and with popular dialogues.
'Gammat Jammat'

'Gammat Jammat' was a comedy Marathi film directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar. This movie is famous for the song 'Ashwini Ye Na' sung by legendary Bollywood singer-actor Kishore Kumar. 'Gammat Jammat' revolved around two central characters Phalgun (Ashok Saraf) and Gautam (Sachin). The duo needs money badly and has no means to get it by the legal way. It featured stars like Sachin Pilgaonkar, Ashok Saraf, Varsha Usgaonkar, Satish Shah and Viju Khote in pivotal roles. The film is still considered as one of the best in Marathi cinema for its plot and Viju's brilliant performance.
'Uttarayan'

'Uttarayan' is a Marathi directorial debut film of Bipin Nadkarni starring Shivaji Satam and Neena Kulkarni in lead roles. It has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. The plot of the film is based on the Marathi play "Durgi" written by Jaywant Dalvi. Viju as 'Babu Borkar' did a commendable job with his part in the film. The film did well at the box office and is considered as one of Viju Khote's best performances till date.
'Ventilator'

Ventilator is a 2016 Indian Marathi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Rajesh Mapuskar and produced by Priyanka Chopra. The film features an ensemble cast of more than 100 actors, including Ashutosh Gowariker, Jitendra Joshi, Sulabha Arya, and Sukanya Kulkarni Mone, Viju Khote. It tells the story of the Kamerkar family, whose eldest and most beloved member goes into a coma and is put on a medical ventilator a few days before the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations.
'Ventilator' won three awards at the 64th National Film Awards; Best Director for Mapuskar, Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing. The film was nominated in 16 categories at the 2017 Filmfare Marathi Awards.
Khote was last seen in Rajesh Mapuskar's 'Ventilator' and his hilarious entertainer registered a stupendous success at the ticket counter.