Kavita Chaudhary, actor of the popular Doordarshan serial Udaan, died at a hospital in Amritsar following a cardiac arrest on Thursday night.

She was 67.

The actor, also popular as homemaker Lalita ji in the Surf detergent commercials in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago.

“She passed away following a cardiac arrest last night around 8.30pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later,” Ajay Sayal, Chaudhary’s nephew, said.

The last rites were held in Amritsar on Friday morning. The actor is survived by Sayal and her niece.

Chaudhary was best known for her portrayal of IPS officer Kalyani Singh in Udaan, a progressive show about women empowerment, which ran on Doordarshan between 1989 and 1991.

Besides starring, she wrote and directed the serial, which was inspired by the life of her elder sister and police officer Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya.

Udaan, which also starred Shekhar Kapur, revolved around the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. The critically-acclaimed show, which inspired a generation of women to pursue public service, was brought back on Doordarshan for a re-run during the pandemic.

Actor Amit Behl was one of the colleagues who paid condolences on Chaudhary’s demise.

“RIP Kavita Chaudhary, is baar aapne lambi udaan bhar li, naman @CintaaOfficial @nsd_india,” he wrote on X.

Later, Chaudhary produced Doordarshan shows Your Honour and IPS Diaries.