New Delhi, July 13 : Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni has condoled the demise of noted Marathi film and stage actor Neelu Phule.

Soni recounted that the versatile actor would be long remembered for his strong social commitment apart from his contribution to Marathi theatre and films.

Describing Phule as one of the finest and most loved Marathi actors in performing arts, Soni said that the void created by the death of Phule would be hard to fill.

She has conveyed her heartfelt condolences to the family of the veteran actor.

The 77-year-old Phule is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Phule, born in 1931 in Pune, is best remembered for his performance in ''Sakahram Binder'', the famous play written by Vijay Tendulkar.

He began his career in film acting in 1968 with ''Ek Gaon Bara Bhanagadi'' directed by Anant Mane, which became instant hit.

After this success, he never looked back and went on to act in nearly 250 Marathi and Hindi films.

Phule''s memorable roles include films like ''Pinjara'' (dir : V. Shantaram), ''Samana'' and ''Sinhasan'' (both directed by Dr. Jabbar Patel), ''Pudhache Paul'' (dir : Rajdutt), ''Choricha Mamla'' (dir ; Babasaheb Fatehlal) among others. His major Hindi films include ''Saaransh'' (dir: Mahesh Bhatt), ''Coolie'' (dir : Manmohan Desai) and ''Mashal'' (dir: Yash Chopra).

Phule was the only actor to win best actor''s award by the Maharashtra Government consecutively for three years. He was also honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi. (ANI)