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Pradeep Rawat aka Ghajini, Lagaan's Deva passes away at 74, manager reveals the reason; Yashpal Sharma pays tribute

Actor Pradeep Rawat, most famous for playing the main role of Ghajini in the 2008 Aamir Khan film, has died in Mumbai. Here are the details.

Published on: Aug 4, 2026, 21:10:14 IST
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Veteran actor Pradeep Rawat, who delivered memorable performances in films such as Lagaan and Ghajini, has passed away at the age of 74. The news of his demise was shared by actor Yashpal Sharma, who paid tribute to his longtime colleague in an emotional post on Instagram on Tuesday.

Pradeep Rawat
Pradeep Rawat

When HT City reaches out, Pradeep's manager Siddharth Tiwari confirms to us, “He was suffering from cancer, and it had relapsed. He has died a few hours back.” He was 74, and is survived by his wife and son Vikramaditya. We learn that he had been admitted to the hospital for over a month now.

Rawat enjoyed a career spanning more than four decades and worked across film industries such as Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Nepali, among others. He first rose to fame on television by playing Ashwatthama in B.R. Chopra's iconic show Mahabharat before shifting to films, where he established himself as a popular character actor.

He became particularly known for playing the role of powerful antagonists. Besides Lagaan and Ghajini, his filmography included performances in Sye, Rowdy Rathore and several Telugu hits. His screen presence and intense performances made him a favourite choice for negative roles across industries.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rishabh Suri

Rishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.

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