Actor Nitesh Pandey Passes Away At 51, TV Fraternity Pays Tribute

It's certainly a traumatic time for the television fraternity as Indian television lost its three artists within a span of two days. After Aditya Singh Rajput and Vaibhavi Upadhyay lost their lives, renowned actor Nitesh Pandey passed away.

According to reports, 51-year-old Nitesh Pandey was found dead in his hotel room at Igatpuri, near Nashik. He is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest late in the night.

Nitesh Pandey Passes Away

Pandey began his stint as an artist in the early 90s after joining theatre. He soon bagged an opportunity in Tejas, where he played the role of detective. The Khosla Ka Ghosla actor's work across several daily soaps like Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani, Justajoo, Durgesh Nandini and Manzilein Apani Apani were much appreciated. His role as Dheeraj Kumar, father of the main lead in the popular show Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyara Pyara on Star Plus earned him several accolades.

During his stint in the show, he was vouched as television’s cool father. His latest appearance happened in one of television’s top-rated shows lately, Anupamaa, where he played the role of Dheeraj Kapoor. Pandey was also seen sharing screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om.

Pandey belonged to Almora, Uttarakhand. He was married to actor Arpita Pandey. He had met Arpita on one of the television shows he worked in.  He was also previously married to actor Ashwini Kalsekar.

While the post-mortem report is yet to come out, the local superintendent of police said that the investigation is underway since the actor's body was found in the hotel room and therefore questioning the staff is part of the process.

Producer Siddharth Nagar, who is also Pandey's brother-in-law, confirmed the news by speaking with ETimes. He mentioned that Pandey was away on the shoot and supposedly suffered cardiac arrest at 2 am and that the news shocked the entire family.

TV Fraternity pays tribute

Actor Rajeshwri Sachdev took to social media to mourn Pandey's demise, writing about how his passing away at a young age was shocking and heartbreaking.

Actor Deven Bhojani, who worked with Pandey across projects, expressed his shock at the news on Twitter. "This can’t be true but it is. Friend, colleague and talented actor Nitesh Pandey dies of cardiac arrest at 2 am today in Igatpuri. Rest in peace, Nitesh."

Suggested reading: Actor Aditya Singh Rajput Found Dead In His Mumbai Apartment