Actor Nirmal Pandey, who acted in films like Bandit Queen and Daayraa has died of a heart attack, the director of his last film said on Thursday.
Pandey, 48, complained of uneasiness and was rushed to a hospital in suburban Bandra but passed away before he could get there, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan told Reuters.
The actor is survived by his wife Archana.
Pandey first shot into the limelight with Shekhar Kapur's much acclaimed "Bandit Queen" (1996), in his performance as Vikram Mallah, a dacoit who wins the affections of Phoolan Devi, India's notorious woman dacoit.
"A terrific actor and human being who had yet to achieve his full potential," Kapur wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday.
Pandey also played the role of a transvestite in Amol Palekar's Daayraa but was later reduced to doing bit roles in Bollywood films.
He had just finished shooting for Chauhan's film Lahore.
"I spoke to him a couple of days ago, and he seemed perfectly fine. This is a huge shock," Chauhan said.
{{/usCountry}}"I spoke to him a couple of days ago, and he seemed perfectly fine. This is a huge shock," Chauhan said.
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