Ramayan actor Chandrakant Pandya dies at 72, Dipika Chikhlia confirms

Chandrakant Pandya of TV show Ramayan died on Thursday. His co-star Dipika Chikhlia shared the news on her Instagram account.

Chandrakant Pandya, who played the role of Nishad Raj in the television show Ramayan, died on Thursday. He was 72. His co-star Dipika Chikhlia, who played Sita in the mythological show, confirmed the news of his death on her Instagram.

Chandrakant Pandya was seen in Ramayan. 

Sharing a picture of the actor on her Instagram Stories, Dipika wrote, “#RIP @Chandrakant Pandya - Nishad of Ramayan.”

Dipika Chikhlia shared the news of Chandrakant Pandya's death. 

In Ramayan, which aired on Doordarshan, Chandrakant played the role of Lord Ram's childhood friend. Besides the show, he also reportedly starred in several movies including Prem Lagna, Pyar Ho Gaya, Parivaar Na Pankhi, Hote Hote Pyar Hogaya, and Chundadi Ni Laaj. He also appeared in a few Gujarati movies.

An ABP report quoted Arvind’s nephew Kaustubh Trivedi as saying, “Uncle was unwell for past few years. Things only worsened over the past three years. He had to be admitted to the hospital a few times.”

Ramayan first aired on Doordarshan in 1987. The series was aired again during the first lockdown amid Covid-19 pandemic. The re-telecast registered the highest-ever rating for a Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) programme since 2015.

While Dipika played Sita, Arun Govil played Ram, Sunil Lahri was seen as Laxman and Dara Singh was Hanuman in the show. It was created and directed by Ramanand Sagar.