Photo: Unknown photographer name, commissioned by Suresh Joshi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, beloved as Pu La, is exactly the sort of cultural figure I treasure. A Mumbai-born Marathi writer, humorist, actor, composer, poet and screenwriter, he gathered honors from the Sahitya Akademi Award to the Padma Bhushan. What moves me most is not the trophy case but the affection behind his nickname, "Maharashtra's beloved personality." Making people laugh while elevating their literature is one of the hardest balancing acts in the arts, and he managed it for decades. Any region lucky enough to cherish a humorist this completely has something precious, and I envy it a little.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Purushottam Laxman Deshpande
- Name (Japanese)
- プルショッタム・ラクスマン・デシュパンデ
- Reading
- ぷるしょったむ・らくすまん・でしゅぱんで
- Born
- November 8, 1919 – June 12, 2000
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Goat
- Origin
- Mumbai, Bombay State, India
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / actor / composer / poet / screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Savitribai Phule Pune University
Awards & achievements
- 1967 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
- 1965 Sahitya Akademi Award
- 1990 Padma Bhushan
- 1966 Padma Shri in literature and education
- 1993 Punyabhushan
- 1996 Maharashtra Bhushan Award
- 1987 Kalidas Samman
- Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://puladeshpande.net
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purushottam%20Laxman%20Deshpande
Frequently asked questions
When was Purushottam Laxman Deshpande born?
November 8, 1919 – June 12, 2000.
Where is Purushottam Laxman Deshpande from?
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande is from Mumbai, Bombay State, India.
What does Purushottam Laxman Deshpande do?
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande works as writer, actor, composer, poet, screenwriter.
Writer — see all → · Actor — see all → · More people from India →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.