'Drishyam' director Nishikant Kamat dies at 50

Well-known film director and actor Nishikant Kamat lost a prolonged battle with liver cirrhosis as he died at Hyderabad’s AIG Hospital on Monday. He was 50 years old.

The hospital authorities said in a statement that Kamat was admitted to AIG on July 31 “with complaints of fever and excessive fatigue”. He was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Kamat showed improvements in the early stages of treatment, but his condition deteriorated soon with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness. He was shifted to the ICU, but multiple organ failure resulted in his death on Monday afternoon, the hospital stated.

Kamat made his directorial debut in 2005 with Marathi movie Dombivali Fast, which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. He made his silver screen debut in 2004 with the Hindi movie Hava Aney Dey. In 2008, Kamat made his first Bollywood film Mumbai Meri Jaan.

Kamat went on to make a place for himself in Bollywood with films like Force, Drishyam, Rocky Handsome and Madaari to his credit. Kamat was also known for his performances in Daddy, Rocky Handsome, Julie 2, and Bhavesh Joshi.

Kamat also dabbled in the web media. He was the creative producer of the web series The Final Call and Rangbaaz Phirse.

Celebrities mourn Kamat’s demise

Actor Riteish Deshmukh said on Twitter: “I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace.”

Ishita Dutta, who had worked in Nishikant Kamat directed ‘Drishyam’ told ETimes, “Nishi sir was extremely humble, down to earth, sweet and calm. In the little time that I spent with him during the shooting of ‘Drishyam’, I can say that he was extremely encouraging.”