With the demise of Phule, an era in Marathi cinema has come to an end.

Phule was suffering from an advanced stage of cancer of the oesophagus that had spread to various parts of his body, including the brain. He was admitted to the hospital on July 5 in a critical condition and never recovered. Phule, who was cremated at Vaikunth crematorium today just before noon, is survived by wife Rajani and daughter Gargi.

Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal, mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale, deputy mayor Chandrakant Mokate, actor Amol Palekar, director Jabbar Patel, social activist Baba Adhav, former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Mohan Dharia, vice-president of the Maharashtra Youth Congress, Vishwajeet Kadam, district collector Chandrakant Dalvi, divisional commissioner Dilip Band and a huge gathering of his fans were present for the last rites.

His body was brought home before cremation where Cultural Affairs Minister Harshavardhan Patil paid tribute to the actor.

Phule will be remembered not only as an actor but also a great human being, who was active in social movements until recently. Nilubahu as he was fondly called, had social cause in his blood as he was a descendent of social reformer Mahatma Phule. Born in 1930 in an impoverished family in Pune, he spent his childhood with his parents, five brothers and four sisters in Borade Wada in Khadakmal Ali.

He struggled to complete matriculation owing to poverty. He wrote a drama Yeragabalyache Kaam Nohe in 1957. He became famous after enacting major protagonists in plays like Pudhari Pahije and Binbiyanche Zaad. Noted Marathi director Anant Mane offered him a role in the Marathi movie Ek Gaav Bara Bhangadi that became a huge success. His role of Zele Anna was critically acclaimed. He then went on to act in hits like Dongarchi Maina, Gan Gaulan, Aai Ude ga Ambabai, Mukkam Post Dhebewadi and Ajab Tuze Sarkar.

He was appreciated for playing the villain as a typical rural Maharashtrian leader. The roles in Pinjra, Saamna and Sinhasan brought to the fore the powerful actor within him. He received state awards for some of these roles.

Though successful in films, he did not turn his back on theatre. Katha Aklechya Kandyachi and Sakharam Binder were the landmarks in his career. He left an imprint on Hindi cinema too. He acted with Amitabh Bachchan in Coolie, Dilip Kumar in Mashal and Anupam Kher in Saaransh. Last year, he did a film Gaav Tasa Changala after a gap of almost 12 years. His last film Ladi Godi in which he made a guest appearance is yet to be released.

He was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

He was attached to various social movements like Andhashraddha Nirmulan, inter-caste marriages and Lokshahi Prabodhan Vyaspeeth.