Veteran actor Deb Mukherjee, father of director Ayan Mukerji, has passed away at 83. He had been feeling unwell for the past couple of months. Deb’s spokesperson confirmed the news to Zoom that the actor died due to age-related ailments on Friday morning.

Deb is the father of Ayan and father-in-law of filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker. Kajol and Tanisha Mukherji are his nieces. He was part of the Mukherjee-Samarth film family, and his father, Sashadhar Mukherjee, was the owner of Filmalaya Studios, known for producing films like Dev Anand’s Paying Guest (1957) and Shammi Kapoor’s Dil Deke Dekho (1959), among others.

Deb’s acting projects include films like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992), Zindagi Zindagi (1972), and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). His last film as an actor was Shahid Kapoor’s Kaminey (2009).

His last rites will be performed today at Pawan Hans Crematorium in Mumbai’s Juhu at 4 pm.