THE TIMES OF INDIA (July 1, 2021)

Mumbai: Filmmaker Raj Kaushal passed away of a cardiac arrest around 4.30 am Wednesday. He was in his fifties. Kaushal was actress Mandira Bedi’s husband. The couple have two children, 10-year-old Vir and a daughter Tara whom they adopted in 2020. Kaushal began his career as copywriter and went on to produce and direct scores of advertising films. He also directed three movies namely Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, Shaadi Ka Laddoo, and Anthony Kaun Hai (2006). He produced ‘My Brother Nikhil’, a sensitive film on the subject of HIV-AIDS.

Kaushal’s sudden death evoked shock and sorrow in the entertainment industry. Actors Ashish Chowdhry, Apoorva Agnihotri, Rohit and Ronit Roy, Manasi Joshi Roy, Sameer Soni and Huma Qureshi arrived to console his wife and children. Meanwhile, Vicky Kaushal, Onir, Neha Dhupia, Arshad Warsi, Randeep Hooda, Boman Irani and Shekhar Ravjiani offered tributes on social media. Anupam Kher, Ronnie Screwvala and Sudhir Mishra also expressed sorrow.

Composer Vishal Dadlani tweeted, “The first person to trust me with making music for a film, @rajkaushal created so many careers with #PyaarMeinKabhiKabhi. Above that, he always stood with his friends.”
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BOMBAY TIMES (July 1, 2021)

Filmmaker Raj Kaushal, 49, who made his directorial debut in Bollywood with Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999), passed away yesterday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by wife Mandira Bedi and children Vir (10) and Tara (4).

The couple had adopted their daughter last year. Raj, who had directed many ads and helmed Shaadi Ka Laddoo (2004) and Anthony Kaun Hai (2006), had recently finished wrapping up a web series. While a few friends and colleagues from the industry were present for the final rites, others expressed grief on social media.

Remembering Raj, Onir, whose first directorial venture, My Brother…Nikhil (2005) was co-produced by the filmmaker, said, “He will always be remembered as someone who was always smiling and made everyone feel like a buddy. I am shocked that he left us at this very young age. He extended support for my first film at a time when nobody was willing to, and I give him credit for helping me fulfil my dream of becoming a director.”

Talking about the filmmaker, friend Rohit Roy said, “There is no way one can come to terms with Raj’s passing. He was one of the happiest, positive and vibrant people around. He never had anything negative to say about anyone… nor did anyone have anything negative to say about him. He was the kind of friend anyone would want to have in their life. He stood by people through thick and thin. I will never forgive him for going away without saying goodbye.”

Sudhanshu Pandey, who has known Raj since 24 years, shot with him a couple of weeks ago. “Raj was like a brother to me. I cannot come to terms with the fact that he is no more. We shot for something two or three weeks back and we had a great time on the sets. I didn’t know that it would be the last time I would meet Raj. I couldn’t attend his last rites. But my wife was there. We connected over a video call because I wanted to see him one last time,” he said.