Rituraj Singh Passes Away: Nakuul Mehta Remembers Co-star With Heartfelt Note, Says 'My TV Hero...'

Actor Rituraj Singh passed away on Tuesday, February 20. As reported by ETimes, the actor was suffering from some pancreatic disease and was hospitalised recently after he faced a cardiac arrest. However, he passed away on Tuesday at the age of 59. Rituraj Singh’s sudden demise has sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Nakuul wrote, “For any 90s kid who grew up on Indian television, the man to my left was the guy to watch out for! His electric presence, frenetic energy and full-bodied acting chops always had me in awe.”

A post shared by Nakuul Mehta (@nakuulmehta)

He added, “I got a chance to play his on-screen son on 2 seasons of a lovely show we made pre & post-pandemic, ‘Never Kiss Your Best Friend’ and therein I had my moment with my TV hero. Vividly recall shooting a pretty sensitive scene with him & my reel mother where his contribution was limited to reacting to the drama between the mother and the son. For some reason, we kept taking multiple chops at the scene but at every point, he kept coming back to me and whispered words of encouragement in my ear. He was clued in, his energies goading you to do better and always a pat on the back & good word for what we did!”

Nakuul wrote, “Our last scene together was from S2 where we shot a very sensitively written scene of an estranged son trying to have a conversation with his widowed father and it felt so real and beautiful and it flowed. We finished the scene, took this picture you see right now and then he embraced me and this time it wasn’t a whisper but in his full-blooded voice told me that he was proud of me and that I reminded him of his younger days! We promised to keep in touch. I probably ran into him at an awards function last and that’s that. Woke up to the news of his passing away this morning! I know he gave me great joy as an audience and then he gave me us some more whilst sharing a set with him. Go well, Ritu Sir .”

Rituraj Singh is known for shows like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Kutumb, Abhay 3 and Never Kiss Your Best Friend among others. He was also seen in Rupali Ganguly’s superhit show, Anupamaa. Rituraj also worked in films like Satyamev Jayate 2 and Badrinath Ki Dulhania. In the latter, he played Varun Dhawan’s father. The film also starred Alia Bhatt in the lead.