Small screen's beloved 'Baa' Sudha Shivpuri dead

Veteran actress Sudha Shivpuri, lovingly known as 'Baa' following her role in the hugely popular TV show "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", passed away early Wednesday morning, a hospital source said.

"She was at our hospital for a couple of days. She died early morning today," a source from CritiCare Multispeciality Hospital and Research Centre in Andheri East here, told IANS.

The ailing theatre, film and TV veteran, is said to have been 77 years old.

According to another source, her last rites will be performed around 3 p.m. at a crematorium in Oshiwara.

Sudha was battling health-related woes since a long time, which forced her to stay away from the small screen.

On Dec 2, 2013, she suffered a stroke, which affected the lower brain and thus, her basic motor skills, following the attack she couldn't talk much due to tracheostomy.

A theatre enthusiast, Sudha married actor Om Shivpuri, who passed away in 1990. Sudha is survived by two children - son Vineet and daughter Ritu, who too is an actress.

Sudha started her journey in showbiz with Basu Chatterjee's "Swami" in 1977.

She has featured in films like "Insaaf Ka Tarazu", "Hamari Bahu Alka" and "Pinjar", and on the small screen her work includes shows like "Rajni", "Kyunki...", "Kasamh Se", "Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil" and "Maniben.com".