Bollywood’s favourite paparazzo Pradeep Bandekar passes away, celebs offer condolences

Pradeep Bandekar with Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar Pic/Instagram

Veteran photographer Pradeep Bandekar, who worked as a photo-journalist or as many simply call them ‘paparazzo' passed away on Sunday (August 11). Pradeep, who worked alongside reputed publications in Mumbai including Mid-day was a Bollywood favourite. He shared a great camaraderie with bigwigs such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Deepika Padukone to name a few.

A paparazzo took to Instagram and shared news of Pradeep's demise. The post read, "Really sad and shocking. Senior film press photographer Pradeep Bandekar passed away early this morning. He was fine until last night and had gone out with his family members. Late at night, he started feeling uneasy, and his son, Prathmesh, decided to take him to the doctor. However, before he could do anything, Pradeep took his last breath. The funeral will be held today after 3 p.m. as his daughter is coming from Dubai. Pradeep's strongest qualities were his patience and hard work. No wonder he earned the respect of all senior actors and the film industry. Om Shanti."

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh also wrote in the comments, "This is upsetting. My Deepest condolences to Pradeep Ji's family. He was a good man. Full of positivity. May his soul rest in peace."

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi also wrote "RIP".

Entertainment journalist Chaitanya Padukone also remembered Pradeep and wrote, "Very shocking and saddening. Pradeep-jee besides being an excellent veteran still photographer, was a close family friend. Hard-working, dedicated, very alert, and super-smart at clicking candid pics, he would personally come to hand over amazing pics of filmy parties and events for over 18 years for my weekly film column in Mid-Day. Courteous, supportive, modest, and soft-spoken by nature Pradeep endeared himself to me and all the celebs in the film fraternity. One of his mission dreams, he recently told me on the phone was to bring out a coffee table of his Curated pictures of Filmy Legends clicked by him. Which I pray should materialize by the end of this year. We will all Miss You--Pradeep-jee! Gem of a Person, Jewel of a Photographer."