Sameer Khakhar who played Khopdi in TV show Nukkad passes away at 71

Veteran actor Sameer Khakhar, known for his roles in classic TV shows such as Nukkad (1986) and Circus (1989), in which he worked with Shah Rukh Khan, passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. He suffered multiple organ failure, his younger brother Ganesh Khakhar said.

He was 71.

Sameer’s most memorable role perhaps was of Khopdi in the Nukkad.

Ganesh said Sameer was admitted to MM Hospital in Borivali in suburban Mumbai on Tuesday morning following respiratory issues.

"He had respiratory problems since yesterday and later he went into an unconscious state, so we called the doctor at home and he asked us to hospitalise him,” he said.

"He was admitted to the intensive care unit of MM Hospital. He suffered multiple organ failure, he was unconscious and then he collapsed. He passed away at 4.30 am today," Ganesh Khakhar told PTI on Wednesday.

Some of Sameer Khakhar's notable work includes TV shows like Shrimaan Shrimati (1994), and films such as Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff starrer Parinda (1989), Salman Khan’s Jai Ho (2014), Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra's Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), Sudhir Mishra-directed Serious Men (2020), and Vikas Bahl's web-series Sunflower (2021).

Sameer is survived by his wife.