pune veteran hindustani classical vocalist and dramatist keerti shiledar known for her work in marathi musical theatre breathed her last early on saturday at the age of 70shiledar passed away at a city hospital following a brief illnessher death elicited a slew of messages of condolences from notable figures in the fields of arts as well as politics such as maharashtra chief minister uddhav thackeray his deputy chief minister ajit pawar as well as pune mayor murlidhar mohol among many othersshiledar a classically trained vocalist was known for her melodious voice yet an authoritative stage presence immortalised in countless productions such as marathi musical theatre adaptation of the ancient drama mricchhakatika as well as sangeet kanhopatra about the life and ideals of the 15th century saint and poet kanhopatra among othersshiledar was part of the marathi musical theatre space for nearly 60 yearsshe had participated in shows by the marathi rangabhumi naatak company from the age of 10 the troupe was founded by her parents jayaram and jaymala shiledar who were accomplished stage actorsjayaram worked with stalwarts such as v shantaram jaymala received multiple awards for her work in musical theatre including the padma shri in 2013both mother and daughter served as president of akhil bharatiya marathi natya sammelan 15 years apartwhile jaymala was elected in that position in 2003 at the 83rd convention keerti served in that post at the 98th convention in 2018 jaymala passed away in 2013