Filmmaker-actor Nishikant Kamat died at the age of 50 on Monday evening in Hyderabad. He was admitted to AIG Hospital on July 31 after complaints of fever and excessive fatigue.
Mr. Kamat was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the last two years. “Since yesterday, he developed respiratory failure and hypotension. Despite maximum efforts, his condition deteriorated eventually leading to multiple organ failure,” said the hospital in a statement.
In 2004, he made his debut as an actor in Hava Aney Dey and as a filmmaker in 2005 with the commercially successful Marathi film Dombivali Fast . The film won him a National Award. He made his entry into the Tamil film industry with Evano Oruvan (2007) starring R Madhavan, a remake of Dombivali Fast .
In 2015, Mr. Kamat directed Drishyam , which was among his biggest hits in Bollywood. “My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam , a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright, ever-smiling. He has gone too soon,” actor Ajay Devgn wrote on Twitter.
The filmmaker also directed Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), Force (2011), Lai Bhaari (2014), Madaari (2016) and Rocky Handsome (2016). “I worked with him 12 years ago in his first Hindi film, Mumbai Meri Jaan , and it was an experience I will always value,” actor Soha Ali Khan wrote on Instagram.
As an actor, Mr. Kamat was last seen in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Bhavesh Joshi Superhero . “What we will miss is his very unique way of thinking and storytelling, as much as the person he was,” tweeted producer Ronnie Screwvala.
