Popular Marathi Lavani Singer Sulochana Chavan Passes away In Mumbai

Celebrated Marathi playback singer, also known as Lavanisamradhni, breathed her last on December 10 in Mumbai due to age-related issues. The veteran singer was 92 and passed away on Saturday at midnight at her residence in Fanaswadi, in Kalbadevi, in south Mumbai. For more than six decades, the legendary singer ruled millions of hearts with her flawless singing.

The legendary singer is survived by her two sons, their wives, and grandchildren. She was married to S. Chavan, director of the film Kalgitura. Chavan was not in good shape for the last few days, and some surgeries were also done on her. Her health deteriorated with age. She was born in 1933 and began singing at the age of 11.

The singer has been honoured with several accolades and multiple awards. She was awarded Padma Shri in March 2022 by the President of India for her contribution to arts and cinema. She has also been conferred with the title "Lavanisamradhni," meaning Queen of Lavani, for her contribution to the art form of singing. The other awards Sulochana was conferred are the Lata Mangeshkar Award for the year 2010 given by the Government of Maharashtra, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012, two Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Government of Maharashtra, the Ganga-Jamuna Award, and the Ram Kadam Award, 2009, by the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Sulochana's childhood was spent in the chawls of Mumbai, where she started singing in local community programs when she was five years old. The young talent never received any formal training but learnt by listening to gramophone records. During her formative years, she also partook in Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati dramas. Famous Marathi actress Sandhya also acted with her as a child artist.

Sulochana's first chance as a singer came to her when she was nine years old, and the film was Krishna Sudama. In her career, she sang a number of songs for Master Bhagwan's films with legends like Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Shyamsunder, and others.

One more achievement in her career was that she recited Ramayan in Bhojpuri with Manna Dey when she was sixteen years old. Apart from Marathi, she also sang bhajans and gazals in languages like Bhojpuri, Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, and Gujarati. Sulochana's singing career rose to new heights after she lent her voice to her first Lawni song in Acharya Atre's film Hich Mazi Laxmi. After this, she came to be known fondly as "Lawnu Samradni."