“Great guy, big loss!” exclaims actor Neha Dhupia as she tries to come to terms with the death of filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar. The actor reveals Sarkar was the one who pushed her to explore her career in Bollywood, saying the loss has hit her really hard.

“Everybody talks about my work in (Pradeep Sarkar’s directorial) Helicopter Eela (2018). I am here [in this industry] because of him. I remember the first time I ever faced the camera... he was the one who called the shots. I also featured in a music video of (Indian pop rock band) Euphoria called Sha Na Na Na Na. I remember him casting me in it and saying, ‘you are in it to become an actor’,” Dhupia says.

The 42-year-old continues, “He would find humour in everything, and he looks for perfection and everything. I can’t believe he is gone.”

Looking back at her memories attached with “Sarkar dada”, Dhupia shares, “I will always remember him having a laugh in the most adverse situations.”

“If he didn’t audition me and if he didn’t think that I could do it, I don’t know where I would have been or what I would have done. As of now, this loss is far more greater than anything else. I wish I could have had more time with him. I will always love our conversations. His demise has been so sudden. The news is still sinking in as I am talking about it,” adds the Singh Is Kinng (2008) actor.

Sarkar, 67, died at a Mumbai hospital on March 24. Apart from adding his creative touch to ad projects, he is credited for weaving together a multi-hued cinematic world with films such as Parineeta (2005), Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), Lafangey Parindey (2010), Mardaani (2014) and Helicopter Eela (2018).