Veteran theatre artist Yashwanth Sardeshpande passes away

The 60-year-old was known for his performance in the Dharwad dialect and has close to 60 plays to his credit, as a director.

Bengaluru: Veteran theatre artiste Yashwant Sardeshpande, who was known for comedy roles, died in Bengaluru on Monday. He was 60.

He suffered a massive heart attack. He had just landed in Bengaluru on Monday morning after a performance in Dharwad on Sunday.

Sardeshpande was known for his performance in the Dharwad dialect and has close to 60 plays to his credit, as a director. Some of the plays include Andhayuga, Inspector General, Midsummer Night's Dream, Pushparani and Tunta Makkala Tante.

Born in Ukkali in Vijayapura district, he started performing in theatre from a young age. He then trained in theatre at Ninasam, Heggodu.

Known for comedy, some of his plays are All the Best, Sahi Re Sahi, and Dil Maange More. He acted in popular TV shows like Paapa Pandu, and participated in Kannada Kannadada Kotyadipathi.

He wrote the dialogues for the film Rama Shyama Bhama and was also the language coach for Kamal Hassan for the North Karnataka dialect.