Kavita Chaudhary of 'Udaan' fame dies due to cardiac arrest

Kavita Chaudhary, best known for playing an IPS officer in Udaan, a progressive show about women empowerment, which ran on Doordarshan between 1989 and 1991, died at a hospital in Amritsar, Punjab. She suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday night. She was 67.

The actress, who was also popular as the homemaker Lalitaji in HUL’s Surf detergent commercials in India in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago.

Her nephew Ajay Sayal confirmed news of her demise, saying, “She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, actor Anang Desai also said, “I came to know this morning that Kavita is no more. She died last night. It is very sad. She was our batchmate at the National School of Drama. We studied together at NSD for three years during our training. Kavita, I, Satish Kaushik, Anupam (Kher), and Govind Namdev were together in the same batch."

Her last rites were held in Punjab on Friday morning. Chaudhary is survived by Sayal and her niece.

Chaudhary was born in 1956 in Amritsar. She became a household name after playing the lead character of IPS Officer Kalyani Singh in Udaan. The show revolved around the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer.

Udaan was based on the inspiring story of Chaudhary’s sister Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, who decided to become a police officer when she saw her father being humiliated and the police refusing to register an FIR (First Information Report).

Apart from playing the lead character, Chaudhary also wrote and directed the show. Celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur also played an important role in Udaan, which was brought back on Doordarshan for a rerun during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Later, Chaudhary, known for her ability to back her projects with thorough research, produced such shows as Your Honour (2000) and IPS Diaries (2015) for Doordarshan.