Actor Sujata Kumar, who played the role of Sridevi's elder sister in English Vinglish (2012), has succumbed to fourth stage cancer. She passed away at 11.26 pm on August 19 (Sunday) after suffering multiple organ failure.
She breathed her last at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital where she was admitted in the ICU. She was 53.
Her sister Suchitra Krishnamoorthi broke the sad news to her fans on Facebook and Twitter. "Our beloved Sujata Kumar has passed away and moved on to a better place leaving us with an umimaginable void. She left us an hour ago at 11.26 pm on the 19th of august 2018..Life can never be the same again," she wrote.
She also informed her fans that Sujata's last rites will be held at Juhu Crematorium in Mumbai at 11 am August 20 (Monday).
A couple of days ago, Suchitra had informed about Sujata's critical condition on Twitter and had requested her fans to join her and her family to pray for her well being. Unfortunately, Sujata lost her battle with metastatic cancer which relapsed seven years after she was declared cancer-free in May 2011.
Who was Sujata Kumar?
Sujata had become a household name when she played the role of Devyani in the TV series Hotel Kingston in 2005. She has appeared in almost sixty TV commercials and was going well in her professional when the life-threatening disease struck her in 2006.
After battling cancer for three years, she emerged victorious against the deadly disease with a lot of physical and mental strength and with the help of her family support.
"I am a single mother so as it is life was not very smooth for me on the personal front, the disease made matters far worse. But I had to hit back and return to a normal life. After three years, I feel happy to have won the battle to a great extent," Sujata had told The Times of India in 2011 after she became cancer free.
Sujata had given up acting while she was suffering from cancer. But that didn't stop from conceptualising and writing an inspirational book about her battle with cancer.
"The thought of writing an inspirational book came to me when I was suffering from cancer. I discussed it with my daughter (Kritika Kumar – currently studying in the US), she said yes instantly and encouraged and motivated me to do it if I wanted to. So there I was penning down my thoughts while suffering from cancer," she had said.
With proper treatment and emotional support, Sujata's life came back to normalcy after winning over cancer.
She made a comeback in English Vinglish in which she played the role of Manu, Shashi's (character played by Sridevi) sister who lives in New York. And needless to say, the actor was at par when she performed on the big screen. The movie was directed by Gauri Shinde.
She then went on to star in Karan Johar's Gori Tere Pyar Mein and Aanand L Rai's Raanjhanaa. She was also a part of Anil Kapoor's 24, a crime thriller TV series which aired on Colors TV.
