India, July 1 -- Renowned actor-director Vijaya Mehta, who drastically transformed Marathi theatre with a slew of experimental plays which resonated with Mumbai's cultural renaissance in the 1960s, died after prolonged illness at her Nepean Sea Road residence on Tuesday. She was 91. She is survived by daughter Anahita, a well-known theatre person, and two sons.

Mehta brought a whiff of fresh air to the stuffy world of Marathi theatre with landmark plays such as 'Mee Jinklo, Mee Harlo', 'Baiee, Khulabai', 'Barrister', 'Hamidabaichee Kothi', 'Ajab Nyaay Vartulaachaa' and 'Purush', to name a few.

Born in a middle class Kayastha family known for its passion for academia and the arts, Mehta studied in St Columba Girls' High School, in Gamdev...