, also known as Lalitabai, started her career in 1928 as a child artiste with Aryan Films Company for a monthly salary of Rs.18. She had done almost 20 films with them and then moved out to work for other companies.

After she grew up and graduated to play the leading lady, she was known more as the "most ravishing beauty of the silent movies". Later, when she had her fill of lead roles, she switched over to doing character roles, some "vampish" roles came her way, but it was her enactment of wicked and tyrannical mother-in-law, which was most popular.

Apart from this she gained prominence for her role of a most cruel, wicked and a cunning lady in a Marathi film titled Sant Sakhoo.

Taking a repast from her acting stint, she produced a film titled Kailash on a partnership basis, but couldn't resist the temptation to star in it. Hence she went ahead and did triple role of a heroine, the vamp, and the mother. Incidentally it was a silent film.
In 1937, she produced another film, titled Duniya Kya Hai and needless to say this was a talkie film.

 Inspite of her career going great guns, a freak accident resulted in facial paralysis and an impairment of her eyesight. All this because a grudging co-star intentionally slapped her hard, during the enactment of a scene. It took her almost 4 years of vigorous and expensive treatment, that too not with perfect cures, before she could get back to her career.

One of her last memorable role, albeit as a character artiste, was that of Mrs. Disa in Anari, starring the late Raj Kapoor.

Lalita Pawar, the doyen of Indian cinema, had worked in more than 500 films, that too in a wide variety of challenging and off beat roles, that will go down in the annals of Bollywood's celluloid history. Lalita Bai had spent her last days in her hometown Pune where she died alone and lonely. A sad end for a great star.

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