Chandrakant Gokhale

Chandrakant Raghunath Gokhale (7 January 1921 – 20 June 2008) was a well-known veteran Marathi film and stage actor and singer. He is recipient of two Maharashtra State Film Awards. In 2001, Gokhale was honoured with the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, Maharashtra's highest award in the field of cinema.

Gokhale's mother, Kamlabai Gokhale (nee Kamlabai Kamat) was the first female child actor of the Indian cinema. Gokhale has acted in several superhit marathi films such as "Dhakti Jau" and many more. His son Vikram Gokhale was also involved with Marathi theatre and the Indian cinema.

Early life

Chandrakant Gokhale was born on January 7, 1921, in Miraj, Bombay Presidency, where he also spent his childhood. He belonged to a family with a strong lineage in the performing arts, receiving his initial exposure to acting from his grandmother, Durgabai Kamat, and his mother, Kamlabai Gokhale. His family ran a theatre troupe named "Chittakarsh." Following the premature demise of his father, Kamlabai supported the family by performing in various touring theatre companies alongside her children. Due to the family's modest financial circumstances, Gokhale was unable to pursue formal schooling. However, his mother homeschooled him, teaching him how to read and write. Despite his lack of formal education, Gokhale later went on to serve as the headmaster of Primary School No. 1 in the Brahmanpuri locality of Miraj.

Gokhale began appearing in stage productions at the age of seven. He made his formal acting debut at the age of nine in the Marathi play Punha Hindu, initiating a career that would eventually span over seven decades and include appearances in more than sixty plays and sixty films. A significant turn in his early life occurred through his association with the maestro Deenanath Mangeshkar. Around 1937–38, Gokhale received training directly from Mangeshkar, learning approximately 70 to 80 traditional classical compositions (bandishes). Gokhale held Mangeshkar in high regard, viewing him as a paternal figure.

Career Theatre and Stage Performances

Gokhale began his stage career performing female roles, which was customary in traditional theatre, before transitioning to male characters. Over a career spanning roughly three quarters of a century, he performed in 64 plays, bringing to life characters written by prominent playwrights such as Annasaheb Kirloskar, Ram Ganesh Gadkari, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Mama Warerkar, Motiram Gajanan Rangnekar, Vishnupant Govind Damle, Pralhad Keshav Atre, Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, and Balakrishna Hari Kolhatkar. His notable theatrical credits included productions of Kulvadhu, Ranichi Baug, Sinhasan, and Zunjarrao.

He was cast in the title role of Raje Master in Shripad Narayan Pendse's play Raje Master (adapted from the novel Haddapar), a drama centering on the life of a schoolteacher. The production featured an ensemble cast including Sunita Deshpande, Dattatray Ramachandra Bhat, Sumati Gupte-Joglekar, Shrikant Moghe, and Madhu Kadam, though the play had a limited run.

Film and Television

In addition to his stage career, Gokhale made his cinematic debut in the 1938 film Laxmiche Khel. Over the course of his film career, he established himself as a prominent character actor, appearing in approximately 70 Marathi and 15 Hindi feature films.

His notable Marathi filmography included acclaimed performances in Maharani Yesubai, Dhakti Jaoo, Bhairavi, Manini, Mansala Pankh Astat, Suvasini, Sukhachi Savli, Swapna Tech Lochani, Dharmakanya, Irsha, Mukkam Post Dhebewadi, and Jivacha Sakha. In his later years, his career expanded into television, where he performed in both Hindi and Marathi broadcast serials.

Filmography