Kavita Chaudhary of ‘Udaan’ fame dies due to cardiac arrest

Neha Saini

Actress Kavita Chaudhary, who played the iconic characters of Lalita ji and IPS officer Kalyani Singh in the Doordarshan series Udaan, passed away due to cardiac arrest in Amritsar earlier today. She was 67. Kavita was cremated in the presence of family, including Ajay Sayal, nephew, her neice, and close friends.

Inspiring an entire generation of women though her onscreen avatar of an ambitious and gritty women IPS officer in Udaan, Kavita Choudhary had shared that her role in the popular show had been inspired by her own elder sister, Kanchan Chaudhry Bhattacharya, who was the second woman IPS officer after Kiran Bedi.

Born and brought up in Amritsar, Kavita did her schooling from Shri Ram Ashram School and later pursued her higher education from the Hindu College. She later went to the Natinal School of Drama. “Kavita and her sister Kanchan were both quite ahead of others, always striving to do something that broke stereotypes. Despite hailing from a affluent business family, both worked hard to make their own mark and succeeded. Now, with both of them gone, it is a great loss to city community, who had seem them achieve many milestones,” shared AshokSethi, a city-based businessman and friend of Kanchan Chaudhary.

Kavita’s ancestral home is inside Hall Gate. Though her screen time was limited to Udaan, Kavita later produced two film based on police force. Her now iconic character of an intelligent and informed housewife, Lalita ji in the Surf advertisements had made her a popular face among audience in the 80s and 90s. Her role as IPS officer Kalyani Singh in Udaan, a progressive show about women empowerment during the time when women, in general, were still aspiring to break gender and social barriers, was considered as a milestone in Indian television history for its premise and character development. She not only acted in the show, but also co-wrote the story.

Several actors and artists who knew her expressed grief on her demise.