Ashok Saraf

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Ashok Saraf (born 4 June 1947) is an Indian film and stage actor and comedian. He has appeared in many Marathi movies and stage plays in lead roles and in Hindi movies and TV serials in supporting roles. He is affectionately known as "MAMA", which in the Marathi means maternal uncle. Most of the Marathi actors and actress called him the "Samrat Ashoka" of the Marathi film industry.

In the 1980s and 90s, Saraf was considered as one of the two Marathi comedy superstars, along with actor Laxmikant Berde. His brand of comedy has been emulated by many actors and serves as a benchmark for new upcoming comedy actors in Marathi cinema. Saraf started his career in Marathi cinema since the late 1960s. In the 1970s, he frequently appeared in supporting comic roles in Marathi movies with leading actors like Dada Kondke, Nilu Phule, Ravindra Mahajani, Avinash Masurekar and Raja Gosavi. His pairing with actress Ranjana Deshmukh was popular with Marathi movie fans.

From the early 1980s, Saraf started getting cast as the leading hero in Marathi films. The combination of Ashok Saraf, Laxmikant Berde, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Mahesh Kothare created the "comedy films wave" in Marathi cinema from 1985 that lasted for more than a decade. His successful Marathi films as the lead hero include Ek Daav Bhutacha, Dhoom Dhadaka, Gammat Jammat, Ashi hi Banava Banavi and Vazir. Saraf has also starred in television serials like Yeh Choti Badi Baatein and Hum Paanch (as Anand Mathur).

In Bollywood, he is best remembered for the comic "Munshiji" in Rakesh Roshan's 1995 action thriller Karan Arjun, in Yes Boss as Shahrukh Khan's friend and as Ajay Devgn's colleague in Singham as head constable. In the Marathi film industry, he is popularly known as "Mama" (maternal uncle).