20feb : Actor Nirmal Pandey, best remembered for his work in films like ‘Bandit Queen’ and ‘God Mother’ died in Mumbai on 18th February following a cardiac arrest.
Pandey, who was 46 and survived by his wife and two children, was not keeping well for sometime and the end came at a private hospital on Thursday afternoon, family sources said.
The actor established a niche playing negative characters on the big screen as well as on television, and his last project was the Telugu film ‘Kedi’, where he again played a villain.
A graduate from the National School of Drama, the actor is best known for films like, ‘Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin, ‘Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’, ‘One 2 ka 4’ and ‘Shikari’.
“Will miss Nirmal Pandey. Great talent. May his soul rest in peace. Simple and a nice guy. Wonderfully quirky actor. Wish had worked with him more,” Shahrukh Khan tweeted.
“I remember him as a handsome guy. He was not just a good actor but also an excellent singer. I had not been in touch with him for some time, but the news is saddening,” Actor Irrfan Khan said.
Irrfan, a senior of Pandey’s at NSD said that he was “deeply saddened” by the sudden death.
Actor Anupam Kher expressed his grief on Twitter, writing, “I am so shocked and sad at the sudden death of Nirmal Pandey. He was a wonderful actor. I liked his casual stance towards life. Sad. RIP.”
Pandey also held the rare distinction of winning an award in the ‘Best Actress’ category when he received the Valenti award in France in 1996 for his turn as a transvestite in Amol Palekar’s ‘Daayraa’.
Pandey had also released an album called ‘Jazba’ in 2002 and directed, ‘Andhayug’, a Hindi play, written by noted playwright Dharamveer Bharati.
