31 August,2025 12:28 PM IST | Mumbai | Aakruti Bagla
Priya Marathe and Usha Nadkarni
Actress Priya Marathe, who is known for her work in the superhit television show Pavitra Rishta, passed away at the age of 38 on Sunday. She was reportedly battling cancer and undergoing treatment. The news has left her friends and colleagues from the industry in deep state of shock. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, her Pavitra Rishta co-star Usha Nadkarni got emotional remembering her.
In an exclusive chat with mid-day, she remembered, "Humare Pavitra Rishta mein bahut saare Marathi artists the, unmein se ek thi Priya Marathe. Sab logo jaisi thi, par zyada bolti nahi thi. Sabke saath hansi-mazaak karti thi lekin zyada faltugiri nahi karti thi. Woh bahut achhe svabhav ki, shaant ladki thi. Apne kaam se matlab rakhti thi. (In Pavitra Rishta, we had many Marathi artists, and one of them was Priya Marathe. She used to laugh and joke with everyone, but never indulged in unnecessary things. She was a very calm girl with a good nature and focused only on her work)."
Usha Nadkarni gets emotional and adds, "Lekin mujhe samajh nahi aata, Bhagwan aisa kyun karta hai. Yeh umar hai kya uske jaane ki? Mujhe laga tha abhi woh achhi hai. (But I don't understand why God does such things. Was this really the age for her to go? I thought she was doing well). Once, when I had gone to Ankita Lokhande's house, her name came up. I said that her treatment was over and she was appearing in serials. But Ankita said no, her condition had worsened. Main usko dekhne bhi jaane wali thi, par Shantanu bola koi mat aao kyunki chemo ki wajah se uske baal gir gaye the, toh usko acha nahi lagta tha koi aake dekhe. Lekin acha nahi hua uske saath. (I was about to go meet her, but Shantanu told me not to, because due to chemotherapy her hair had fallen out, and she didn't like anyone seeing her that way)."
Apart from Pavitra Rishta, she has been a part of shows like Kasamh Se, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, Saath Nibhana Saathiya among many others. She got married to actor Shantanu Moghe on 24 April 2012. He played the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Swarajyarakshak Sambhaji.
