Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 8, 2018)

Shrivallabh Vyas, who rose to fame as Eeshwar Kaka in Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, and has previously featured in Sarfarosh, Shool, Virasat and Dil Bole Hadippa, passed away at the age of 60 on Sunday at his Jaipur home. The actor, fondly known among friends as Pallav, had also essayed the character of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Ketan Mehta’s Sardar, besides doing over 60 movies across Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Bhojpuri, as well as TV shows.

While shooting in Gujarat in 2008, Vyas had fainted in the washroom in the middle of the night and injured his head. Next morning, he was found in a pool of blood and doctors said that he’d suffered a brain stroke. The National School of Drama graduate was operated upon but was left paralysed. Due to financial constraints, his wife, Shobha, with their two daughters had to relocate first to Jaisalmer and then to Jaipur.

Aamir, NSD alumni Irrfan Khan and Manoj Bajpayee, and Arun Bali had come to the family’s rescue financially. While filming Rajkumar Hirani’s PK in Jaipur in February 2013, Aamir had also visited the actor and his family