Bollywood bids adieu to the OG 'Khopdi' of showbiz, Sameer Khakhar

Sameer Khakhar best known for playing the lovable drunk Khopdi in the classic 1980s television serial Nukkad died at a hospital in the early hours of Wednesday due to multiple organ failureThe actor who was most recently seen in the Amazon Prime Video series Farzi and moved to the US in the 1990s for a few years to become a software developer was 71Filmmakers Hansal Mehta Raj and DKKhakharrsquos younger brother Ganesh informed ldquoHe had respiratory problems since yesterday and later became unconscious He was admitted to the intensive care unit of MM Hospital Slowly and gradually he suffered multiple organ failure He passed away at Wednesday morningrdquo said GaneshKhakharrsquos notable works include TV show Circus Shrimaan Shrimati and films such as Parinda Salman Khanstarrer Jai Ho Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Choprarsquos Hasee Toh Phasee Sudhir Mishradirected Serious Men and Vikas Bahlrsquos web series SunflowerFilmmaker Hansal Mehta thanked Khakhar for the memories of Khopdi ldquoFor some reason I was nicknamed Khopdi in college after his iconic character in Nukkad My closest friends from the time still call me Khopdi But I guess itrsquos time to say goodbye to the OG Goodbye Sameer Khakhar Thank you for the memoriesrdquo Mehta captioned a series of the late actorrsquos photos on TwitterldquoKhopdi has left this Circus and gone to the Nukkad in the skyrdquo wrote director Nila Madhab Panda on Twitter adding ldquoGood bye Sameer Khakhar thank you for all those wonderful memories your characters will always stay with us Om ShantirdquoKhakhar hit the headlines in early 2021 after a tweet from a film journalist informing industry people that the actor was looking for work caught the attention of industry colleagues such as Satish Shah and Gulshan DevaiahAlso ReadRaj and DK recall Sameer Khakhars special appearance in Farzi With each take he tried to do something funThe actor most recently starred in Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathiled Farzi where he played the role of a foulmouthed elderly person named Illyas Filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK who created and directed the series paid a tribute to Khakhar on their Instagram Stories They shared a photo of the actor from the show and wrote ldquoKhopdi from Nukkad had made such an impact on us as kids He was different and quirky He was inebriated but always spoke the truth Then decades later we read his interview where he mentioned how he longed to get back in front of the camera And we jumped to get him to do a cameo in Farzi The original elan and improv was intact With each take he tried to do something fun Just the outtakes were so hilarious We were lucky to have worked with this maverick actor even if for one dayrdquo The last rites were conducted at a Borivali crematorium in the presence of his family and some friends from Khakharrsquos days in Gujarati theatre He is survived by his wife This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever