Dada Kondke

Kondke was a born to and raised in a Koli^[5] family of cotton-mill workers in a chawl in Naigaon, near Lalbaug, Mumbai. His family originally hailed from the village of Ingavali which was in the erstwhile Bhor State near Pune. Kondke and his migrant family retained close connections to their rural roots. As a youngster, Kondke was a rough kid who later on took up job in a local grocery retail chain called Apna Bazaar. He lost his parents to unfortunate events and the grieving process changed him profoundly. Left alone with his elder brother Dhondiram and his family to take care of him, these events made him focus more on the lighter side of life and make people laugh. Kondke started his entertainment career with a band and then worked as a stage actor. While working for the drama companies, Kondke toured throughout Maharashtra which helped him understand the local population's taste in entertainment.

Kondke was married to Nalini in 1964. The marriage was arranged by his elder brother, who was concerned about Kondke's mischievous behavior and sought to settle him down. At the time, Kondke was not keen on marriage as he had recently started a job at the Mumbai Kamgar and was beginning his stage career with the play Vichha Majhi Puri Kara.^[6][7] Due to the play's immense success, Kondke was frequently away on tours across Maharashtra, leaving his wife alone in Mumbai. Tensions eventually rose between the couple, leading to their legal separation in 1968. In his autobiography, Kondke remained private about the specific reasons for the fallout, though he noted that he paid a significant alimony following the divorce.^[8]

Following his divorce, Kondke entered a long-term live-in relationship with actress Neela Kadwadkar (also known as Neelambari), who was a co-artist in his play Vichha Majhi Puri Kara. Neela, who came from a Devdasi background, became a close companion during a period when Kondke was reportedly dealing with mental stress and loneliness.^[9]

The two lived together as a couple for several years; however, the relationship was marked by turbulence. Kondke later discovered that Neela had been untruthful about her past—specifically that she already had children from a previous relationship. Despite the betrayal, Kondke initially stayed with her due to his emotional attachment, though the couple eventually split.^[9][10]

In his later years and through various interviews, Kondke revealed a brief but serious romantic chapter involving legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle.^[11] The two had grown very close during their professional collaborations, to the point where Bhosle reportedly proposed marriage. The proposal allegedly came with two conditions: that Kondke would have to leave the film industry and relocate. Kondke sought the advice of his mentor, director Bhalji Pendharkar, who advised him against the union, suggesting that their vastly different professional worlds and the required conditions would not lead to long-term happiness. Consequently, Kondke declined the proposal, and the two remained professional colleagues.^[12]

Throughout the height of his film career, Kondke was most frequently linked by the media to his long-standing leading lady, Usha Chavan.^[13] While they shared an iconic on-screen chemistry and worked together on numerous "Silver Jubilee" hits, both maintained that their relationship was primarily professional and based on deep mutual respect. Kondke was reportedly working on a film titled Jaraa Dheer Dhara with Chavan at the time of his death in 1998.^[14]

Balasaheb Thackeray, leader of the party Shiv Sena, helped Kondke with screenings of Songadya, when Dev Anand's film, Tere Mere Sapne was released, and resulted in movie theatres replacing showings of Songadya, for it. The move angered Marathi-speaking moviegoers, as many were eager to watch Kondke's film. The news of the replacement reached the Sena Bhavan, and after a meeting, party members and locals marched to the theatre to protest the move. Thackeray's justification for supporting Kondke was that he was a Marathi Māṇūs (Man). In return, Kondke, with Gajanan Shirke, helped found the Chitrapat Shakha. Kondke was impressed with Thackeray's charisma and had toured Maharashtra to attract voters towards Shiv Sena. Kondke was a very active member of Shiv Sena and was able to influence many areas of rural Maharashtra due to his popularity and way of making fiery speeches to impress the masses.