Mumbai: Actor Sameer Khakhar, whose portrayal as the drunken Khopdi in the iconic TV serial ‘Nukkad’ (1986) became his calling card, passed away at age 71 after suffering multi-organ failure Wednesday.

His younger brother Ganesh told PTI, “He had respiratory problems since yesterday and later he went into an unconscious state, so we called the doctor at home and he asked us to hospitalize him. Sameer was admitted to the intensive care unit of MM Hospital. Slowly and gradually, he suffered multiple organ failure, he was unconscious and then he collapsed. He passed away at 4:30 am.”

It was the power of Khakhar’s performance that drove viewers to despair at his demise. In real life, they would have turned up their nose and sidestepped the stout, unkempt drunkard with slurred speech, but the reel life character of Khopdi was so well loved that Khakhar’s death evoked mass disappointment. Fans remembered his roles in TV serials ‘Circus’, ‘Manoranjan’ and ‘Shriman Shrimati’ and films like ‘Raja Babu’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Shahenshah’ and ‘Jai Ho’. He appeared in some web series too.

Social media buzzed with memories of his silent act in the film ‘Pushpak’ which had no dialogues. Khakhar played a wealthy alcoholic businessman who is kidnapped by the protagonist Kamal Hassan. Other notable roles include ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ and web productions like ‘Sunflower’, ‘Serious Men’ and ‘Farzi’.

Khakhar had moved to the US in the 1990s for a few years to become a software developer. He worked at a company as Java developer till recession hit in 2008. Fewer assignments followed by the lockdown worsened his circumstances.

In 2021 he bravely appealed for work, saying in an interview to PTI, “Everybody is looking for work and so am I. And by looking for work I mean approaching and applying for a job. In the case of actors, it is a daily exercise with every film or show. But I am a bad salesman.”

On Wednesday, Khakhar’s last rites were performed at a Borivali crematorium in the presence of family and some friends from his days in Gujarati theatre. He is survived by his wife.

On social media, big names from cinema and TV held off. But condolences trickled in from the likes of Hansal Mehta, Gulshan Devaiah, Bhuvan Arora and the makers of ‘Farzi’. Cine & TV Artistes' Association also mourned his loss.

Hansal Mehta wrote, “For some reason I was nicknamed Khopdi in college after his iconic character in Nukkad. My closest friends from the time still call me Khopdi. But I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the OG. Goodbye Sameer Khakhar. Thank you for the memories.”

Director Nila Madhab Panda said, “Khopdi has left this Circus and gone to the Nukkad in the sky.”

Senior actor Sameer Khakhar (70), best known as Khopdi in the TV world, passed away yesterday in Mumbai due to multiple organ failure.

Film director and writer Saeed Akhtar Mirza, who directed Khakhar in the TV show Nukkad during the 80s, shared how the actor’s character and his portrayal of the drunk Khopdi became iconic. He said, “I don’t remember who coined the term ‘Khopdi’, but through his character, we were able to convey social messages and depict the times of that era. He was a man of huge talent and had the capacity to do many different roles, but unfortunately, he got typecast. He had told me how unhappy he was about getting slotted in drunkard roles. If it was not a drunkard’s role, it would be something similar, so that’s the saddest part of his career because he was capable of much more. He was a great theatre artiste, and I wanted to see him flourish, but unfortunately, he did not get enough work. His passing away has left a hole in my heart. He will live on in our hearts forever.”

Pavan Malhotra, who shared screen space with Khakhar in Nukkad, said, “He was extremely talented and added to every scene in the show. I remember in those days. . . we used to take three days to shoot an episode. All our characters are remembered even today, especially Khopdi. Sameer was a talented and fun-loving guy.”

Khakhar’s last TV show was Sanjivani 2, a couple of years ago. He played the lead actor’s uncle in the show, who is childlike and keeps forgetting things. Producer of the show, Siddharth P Malhotra, shared, “When this character was written, we wanted to cast only him. Whatever scenes he had in the show lifted the quality of the show. His passing away is sad and heartbreaking.”

Director Hansal Mehta also tweeted for Khakhar. He wrote, “For some reason, I was nicknamed Khopdi in college after his iconic character in Nukkad. My closest friends from the time still call me Khopdi. But I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the OG. Goodbye, Sameer Khakhar. Thank you for the memories (sic).”

Actor Sameer Khakhar, who was best known for playing the lovable character Khopdi in the show Nukkad, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Mumbai due to multiple organ failure. The actor, 71, was last seen in the web series Farzi.

“He had respiratory problems since Tuesday and later became unconscious. We called the doctor at home and were asked to hospitalize him. Later, he was admitted to the intensive care unit of MM Hospital,” his younger brother, Ganesh, told PTI.

Besides Nukkad, Khakhar also played pivotal roles in shows such as Circus, Shrimaan Shrimati and Sanjivani to name a few. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, actor Parineeti Chopra and chef Kunal Kapur were among those who paid tributes to Khakhar on social media.