Deb Mukherjee's funeral: Ranbir Kapoor turns pallbearer for best friend Ayan Mukerji's dad

Ranbir Kapoor returned from vacation to support his close friend Ayan Mukerji after the death of Ayan's father, veteran actor Deb Mukherjee, at 83.

Veteran actor Deb Mukherjee, father of filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, passed away at 83 on Friday morning. Ranbir Kapoor, a close friend of Ayan, cut short his Alibaug vacation to be by his side. He also took part in the final rites, serving as a pallbearer and carrying Deb Mukherjee’s body on his shoulders. (Also read: Jaya Bachchan gives a long hug to Kajol as she arrives to pay final respects to Deb Mukherjee. Watch)

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor during the funeral of veteran actor-filmmaker Deb Mukherjee, in Mumbai.(PTI)

Ranbir at Deb Mukherjee's funeral

A new picture shared by a paparazzi account on Instagram shows Ranbir as a pallbearer along with many other men from the family. They carefully brought Deb's body out on a stretcher wrapped in white cloth. Ranbir was spotted wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

The actor arrived along with wife Alia Bhatt from their Alibaug vacation on Saturday morning after hearing the news of Deb's demise. Ayan and Ranbir are close friends in the industry, and the two of them have collaborated in Wake Up Sid, Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani and Brahmastra: Part One- Shiva. At the media meet-up a few days ago to celebrate Alia's birthday, Ranbir had announced that Brahmastra: Part Two was in the works. Ayan is currently busy with War 2.

Celebrities pay their final respects

Meanwhile, several Bollywood celebrities arrived at Ayan's residence to pay their final respects, including Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, Jaya Bachchan, and more.

Deb passed away at 83 on Friday morning due to age-related health complications, his spokesperson confirmed to Zoom. A respected figure in the Samarth-Mukherjee family, Deb was the father of filmmaker Ayan Mukerji and the father-in-law of director Ashutosh Gowariker.

Ranbir was last seen in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. The actor is currently shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War. He also has the sequel of Animal, titled Animal Park, and Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana in the pipeline.