Veteran actor, mimicry artist and social worker Aasha Singh Jaiswal, remembered for her work in Mahabharat and for recreating the voice of Meena Kumari in mimicry performances, died in Mumbai on August 22, 2026. Her son, Akkash Bharadwaj, confirmed that she died at around 7:30 pm. The family performed her last rites the following morning at Pawan Hans Crematorium in Vile Parle West, Mumbai.

The Aasha Singh Jaiswal Death News has brought renewed attention to a career that moved between television, Hindi cinema, stage performance and social work. While many viewers remember her from B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat, mimicry was an equally important part of her public identity—particularly her impressions of the legendary actress Meena Kumari.

Aasha Singh Jaiswal Remembered for Mahabharat and Meena Kumari Mimicry

Television audiences knew Aasha Singh Jaiswal for playing Kripi in B.R. Chopra's celebrated Mahabharat, which originally aired from 1988. Her work was not limited to television. Times of India and Cinema Express credit her with character roles in films including Baazigar, Bobby Jasoos, Deewangee, Aag, Kayda Kanoon, Aansu Bane Angaarey and Ghar Bazar. But she also developed a separate identity as a female mimicry performer at a time when the field was dominated largely by men.

Her best-known impression was that of Meena Kumari, one of Hindi cinema's most recognisable stars. Reports describe Jaiswal as recreating or imitating Meena Kumari's voice through live performances rather than working as the actress's dubbing voice. That distinction is important because some current reports loosely describe her as having “lent her voice” to Meena Kumari, language that could incorrectly suggest a professional dubbing association with the late actress.

Son Akkash Bharadwaj Calls Her an ‘Iron Lady’

Bharadwaj confirmed his mother's death while speaking to the media. “She passed away yesterday evening at around 7:30 pm in Mumbai,” he told ANI. He added that the family had performed her last rites at Pawan Hans Crematorium the following morning. He also paid tribute to his mother on Instagram, describing her as a hardworking “Iron Lady.” Rather than asking people only to mourn her, Bharadwaj urged audiences to continue watching and remembering her work. His message focused repeatedly on how important her profession had been to her throughout her life. That tribute has since become one of the most widely repeated elements of the Aasha Singh Jaiswal Death News.

From Live Mimicry to the Film Industry

Jaiswal's career is notable because it crossed several different forms of entertainment. Cinema Express describes her as one of the early Indian women to establish herself in mimicry, while NDTV reports that details shared by her son described her as India's first female mimicry artist. Without a definitive historical record establishing who was literally first, “pioneering female mimicry artist” is the safer description.

What is clear is that mimicry formed an important part of her career. Her impressions of famous personalities—and especially legendary actress Meena Kumari—were performed before live audiences, giving her a profile separate from her character roles in the film industry. She later moved into film and television work, including Mahabharat and Baazigar.

Times of India also reports that she founded Aasha Events and Films and remained associated with social work. That combination of mimicry, screen acting, event work and community activity made her career difficult to define through a single credit.

Her Baazigar and Other Film Credits

Jaiswal's name is also associated with Shah Rukh Khan's 1993 thriller Baazigar. Current reports list several other films from different periods of her career, including Aag, Deewangee, Bobby Jasoos, Kayda Kanoon, Aansu Bane Angaarey and Ghar Bazar. These were primarily character roles rather than leading performances. That may explain why her name was less familiar to mainstream audiences than some of the productions in which she appeared. Her Mahabharat role and live mimicry therefore remain the two parts of her career being highlighted most prominently after her death.

How Old Was Aasha Singh Jaiswal?

This is one detail where current reports should not be treated as settled. Cinema Express reports that Jaiswal was 66 when she died. Zoom TV carries the same age. Gulf News, however, reports that she was 83, as do several other outlets carrying newer profiles. One News9 report is internally inconsistent, using both 83 and 76 on the same page. The ANI report quoting her son directly does not provide her age. Until the family or a reliable biographical record confirms it, an obituary should therefore avoid stating a definitive age.

Has Aasha Singh Jaiswal’s Cause of Death Been Confirmed?

No confirmed cause of death has been given in the primary family statement carried by ANI or the major reports from Times of India and NDTV reviewed here. A secondary entertainment database has attributed her death to age-related health problems, but that information has not been corroborated sufficiently to present as confirmed. The safer formulation is simply that she died in Mumbai on August 22 at around 7:30 pm.

A Career Spanning Stage, Television and Cinema

For viewers who remember the older world of live mimicry, Jaiswal represented a form of entertainment that existed alongside films and television rather than inside them. She could appear as Kripi in Mahabharat, take supporting roles in Hindi films and still build recognition around a live impression of Meena Kumari. That range is what makes her career distinctive.

Her son's tribute also offers perhaps the clearest way to remember it. He asked people not only to mourn his mother but to continue watching the work that mattered so much to her.