Bollywood suffered yet another loss on Monday when one of the promising directors of Hindi cinema Nishikant Kamat passed away in a hospital in southern Hyderabad. Kamat had been suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years.
Nishikant Kamat was known for films like Drishyam, with Ajay Devgn-Tabu in the lead, and Irrfan Khan-starrer Madaari. He also directed John Abraham starrers Force and Rocky Handsome among other directorial projects.
The Indian film industry lost several iconic figures during 2020.
- Sushant Singh Rajput, a young and promising actor committed suicide on 14 June at his home in Mumbai. Mystery shrouds Rajput’s death, with his family seeking a high-level probe into the circumstances of his suicide.
- Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor passed away in Mumbai on 30 April after a two-year-long battle with blood cancer. A third generation from the iconic Kapoor family, he was the second son of actor Raj Kapoor and the grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor.
- Another legend of Bollywood was Irrfan Khan who breathed his last on 29 April in Mumbai. He too was unwell for a long time, with a colon infection. An extraordinary actor, Irfan was known as India’s face in the West.
- Three-time national award winning film choreographer Saroj Khan passed away due to cardiac arrest on 3 July at the age of 71.
- Mohit Baghel, best known for his role in Salman Khan's film Ready, died of cancer on 23 May.
- Ninety-year-old director Basu Chatterjee passed away in Mumbai on 4 June, due to age-related ailments. Best known for films like Chhoti Si Baat, Chitchor, Rajnigandha, Piya Ka Ghar, his last commercially successful movie was Chameli Ki Shaadi in 1986.
- Actress Kumkum, passed away on 28 July in Mumbai at the age of 86.
- Filmmaker Rajat Mukherjee (50), best known for his directorial venture Road and Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya passed away due to kidney ailments on 19 June
- Comedian Jagdeep, remembered for his role as Soorma Bhopali in the blockbuster Sholay, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra died on 9 July at the age of 81.
- Harish Shah (76), who directed films with Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha and Rajiv Kapoor in the lead roles passed away on 7 July.
- One of the new-age music composers, Wajid Khan died at the age of 42 on 1 June.
