Prashant Damle (born 5 April 1961) is a Marathi actor, comedian who has acted in numerous Marathi drama, movie and Soap opera over 35 years. He has been associated with Marathi theatre since 1983 and till date has performed in 27 different plays and a variety of hundreds of roles. Damle is widely recognized as the biggest ultimate superstar of Marathi theatre.
In the journey of 35 years of performing arts, he has been honored with many prestigious awards. To date he has 5 Limca Book of Records in his name. He has also performed in 37 Marathi Feature Films and 24 Marathi serials. On 6th November 2022, his performance in Eka Lagnachi Pudhchi Goshta marked his career's 12,500th show, a record.
Career
After the first few stage performances during his school years and college years he got an opportunity to act in the Marathi play named "Tur Tur". That proved to be a major breakthrough for him and thus he ventured into the commercial Marathi theater. He proved his excellence in comedy. Then followed the play "Moruchi Mavshi". During that period of struggle Mr. Sudhir Bhat of Suyog Productions, cast him into a lead role in his comedy-drama "Bramhachari". That was what gave birth to his devotion and dedication to the world of Marathi theater & entertainment. He got his first break into films through the film "Pudhcha Paaul" by Producer Mr. Vinay Nevalkar which was directed by Mr. Raj Dutt and thus marked his first entry into the world of Marathi films, where his performance and name reached to a larger audience, further stabilizing his presence in the acting arena.
Having done a number of Marathi Stage shows, Prashant has also worked in the film media. He has worked in numerous television serials and more than a hundred Marathi films. He has worked with the big wigs of the industry and worked in some of the all-time famous movies like - Pasant Aahe Mulagi, Savat Majhi Ladki, Ekda Pahava Karun, Aatmavishwas, Ena Meena Deeka (along with Ashok Saraf), Madhuchandrachi Ratra, Vajwa Re Vajwa and the most recent Tu Tithe Mee.
He has acted in many Marathi and Hindi television serials and has portrayed memorable characters. Some of his works in television discipline are "Gharkul", "Be Dune Teen", "Bhikajirao Crorepati", "Gubbare", "Saare Saare Gaauya", "Kay Pahilas Majhyat", "Darling Darling", "Bahurupi" and the very popular, "Filmi Chakkar", "Uchapati", just to name a few of his most unforgettable performances.
Damle suffered a mild heart attack in May 2013. He was undergoing treatment at an Andheri hospital. Damle was admitted to the Critical H4 hospital after feeling uneasy. Angiography revealed four blockages in arteries supplying blood to his heart which was operated the same week. Damle was busy with "Eka Lagnachi Goshta" when he had this mild heart attack. Because of this, all shows of his dramas had to be canceled for the next 15 days. After the treatment, he again started doing plays but at a slower pace.