Veteran actress Usha Nadkarni has been working across Marathi and Hindi cinema, television and theatre for nearly seven decades. The 80-year-old cinema veteran recently opened up about the personal struggles behind her illustrious career. She also shared about years of living alone and the sacrifices that came with it. Let’s take a look at it in detail.
Usha Nadkarni shares living alone has become a way of life
In a conversation with Rajshri Marathi, Usha Nadkarni spoke about her life alone in Mumbai, revealing she has lived by herself since 1987. With her son settled abroad and all her siblings no longer alive, solitude has long been part of her routine.Talking about whether loneliness ever affects her, she said, “I’m used to it. I’ve been living alone since 1987. I’m not scared at all. I used to be scared when I first moved into my building. I would ask the guard to accompany me to my door because I was afraid somebody would attack me from behind. But I’m not scared anymore.”She also spoke about thoughts of mortality, admitting they cross her mind but without fear. She said, “People can’t tell how they’ll die. Some people go in their sleep; some people die in the hospital. I’m not scared even one bit. If I die in my sleep, my neighbours would come knocking and think, ‘Buddhi ne darwaza nahi khola hai (The old lady didn’t open the door).'”
Usha Nadkar shares her career came with a painful personal cost
In the same conversation, Usha Nadkarni has often spoken about what her acting career cost her personally. Even after divorcing her husband years ago, the veteran actress has no bitterness towards him or his family, often inviting them over for dinner. What she found hardest, she has said, was being away during her son’s childhood, as her packed schedule in Marathi theatre often meant performing in multiple plays in a single day.
More about Usha Nadkarni
With a career spanning nearly seventy years across film, television and theatre, Nadkarni has also featured in films like ‘Maherchi Sadi’, ‘Vaastav’, ‘Krishna Cottage’, ‘Pak Pak Pakaak’, ‘Rustom’, ‘Great Grand Masti’, and more. She was last seen in ‘Tumbbad Chi Manjula’ and is reportedly, will be next seen in Sohum Shah’s ‘Tumbbad 2’.She also featured in reality shows, including ‘Bigg Boss Marathi’ in 2018 and ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ in 2025. She is also popular for her role of Savita Deshmukh in the TV serial ‘Pavitra Rishta’.
