Vikram Gokhale passes away: Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Manoj Bajpayee and others pay tributes

Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee and Raveena Tandon were among the stars of Indian cinema who on Saturday remembered veteran actor Vikram Gokhale, who died at a Pune hospital.

Mumbai: Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale passed away after being on the ventilator for some time at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. As news of the Mission Mangal actor's death broke out, emotional messages poured in from fans and colleagues. Several Bollywood actors took to Twitter to condole the passing of Gokhale through heartfelt posts.

Gokhale, known for several Marathi and Bollywood films including the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Agneepath (1990), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Natsamrat (2015) and Mission Mangal (2019), passed away at Pune's Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for the last couple of weeks. He was 77.

Actor Raveena Tandon re-tweeted the news of Vikram's passing and wrote "Om Shanti".

Akshay Kumar, who has appeared in a number of films with the late actor, took to Twitter to express his grief. "Very sad to know of the demise of Vikram Gokhale ji," he wrote. "Worked with him in films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Mission Mangal, had so much to learn from him. Om Shanti," he added.

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit called Gokhale's death a huge loss to the film industry. "Respected king of Marathi theatre, TV and cinema #VikramGokhale ji is no more with us! This is a huge loss for the industry! I pay tribute to his family on behalf of us! om Shanti!" he wrote on Twitter.

Hera Pheri actor Ravi Kishan paid his condolences through a tweet in Hindi. "My favourite artist Vikram Gokhale Ji is no more" he wrote.

Uunchai actor Anupam Kher was seemingly speechless at receiving the news. "#VikramGokhale", he wrote with three broken heart emojis. Prior to this, the 67-year-old had shared an incomplete video of Gokhale when rumours of his passing had first spread on Thursday. However, these rumours were refuted by Vikram's daughter.

READ |Vikram Gokhale: Acting ran in his blood

Actor Manoj Bajpayee recalled memories of working with the National Awardee. "Had the privilege of working with him in Aiyyari and shared few great moments with him on the set !" the Gangs of Wasseypur actor wrote. "Saddened to hear about Shri Vikram Gokhale ji's demise. My thoughts & prayers are with the family" he added.

Kal Ho Naa Ho actor Delnaaz Irani also expressed grief and wrote, "Sad to hear about the passing of #VikramGokhale Ji, my deepest condolences to the family through this tough time. #RIPSir."

Through the course of his long and successful career, Vikram Gokhale appeared in both Hindi and Marathi films. Apart from acting and directing, Vikram Gokhale was a social activist and ran a charitable trust that helped children in need, and disabled soldiers. He also ran a real estate firm called Sujata Farms in Pune.

Gokhale's mortal remains will be kept at the Balgandharva Auditorium in the city and the last rites will be performed at the Vaikunth crematorium in the evening. The actor is survived by wife and two daughters.