Nitesh Pandey, Anupamaa Actor, Dies at 51 After Cardiac Arrest

Television actor Nitesh Pandey has died at the age of 51. The actor, who was recently seen in Anupamaa, died of a cardiac arrest. The news of his death was confirmed by his brother-in-law, producer Siddharth Nagar. It is reported that Nitesh suffered a cardiac arrest on May 23 in Igatpuri, near Nashik, where he was shooting for a project. His sister, Arpita, is said to be in a state of shock.

According to ANI, Nitesh was found dead in a room in the Dew Drop Hotel and the police is investigating the death. “TV actor Nitesh Pandey found dead at a hotel in Igatpuri, Nashik in Maharashtra. Prima facie, the cause of death seems to be a heart attack. A Police team present at the hotel and investigation is underway. Postmortem report is awaited. Questioning of hotel staff and people close to him is being done,” the tweet read. Sources said that Pandey used used to come to the hotel often and spend time writing stories.

Speaking with ETimes, Siddharth Nagar said, “Yes you have heard it right. My brother-in-law is no more, my sister Arpita Pandey is in a state of shock. Nitesh’s father has left for Igatpuri to get his mortal remains. They should be here by the afternoon. We have gone absolutely numb, I have not been able to even talk to Arpita after the tragedy.”

“I am headed to Igatpuri as well, I am in the train right now. I was coming back from Delhi when I heard about this. Nitesh was much younger than me. He was a very lively person and I don’t think he had a history of any heart ailment,” he added.

Nitesh was previously married to Ashwini Kalsekar. Best known for his work on television shows such as Astitva…Ek Prem Kahani (2002) Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara (2012), and Ek Rishta Saajhedari Ka (2016). However, he has also starred in numerous films, including Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om (2007), Dabangg 2 (2012), Hunterrr (2015) and more recently, Badhaai Do (2022).

The actor began his career in 1990, with theatre. He got his first on-screen break in Tejas, a television show, in which he played the role of a detective. Besides acting, he also reportedly has a production house called Dream Castle Productions. Through the production house, Nitesh produced Radio shows.

The news of Nitesh’s death comes a few hours after TV actress Vaibhavi Upadhyaya, who was seen in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, was reported to have died in a road accident.