Bollywood mourns Pritish Nandy: Tributes pour in from Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and others

Bollywood mourned the loss of veteran journalist-turned-filmmaker Pritish Nandy, who passed away at 73 on January 8 due to cardiac arrest. Stars such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Hansal Mehta paid heartfelt tributes to the multi-talented personality, reflecting on his contributions and their memories with him.

Kareena, who starred in Chameli (2004), produced by Pritish’s Pritish Nandy Communications, shared pictures from the set on Instagram. The images, featuring her in conversation with the filmmaker, were captioned with a red heart, folded hands, and infinity emojis as a tribute.

Chameli director Sudhir Mishra expressed his grief on X, “Pritish Nandy changed my life... I’m so sorry, Pritish Da. I couldn’t come up with an idea for the sequel.”

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta also mourned the loss, calling Pritish one of the greatest patrons of his work. “You lived well, Mr. Nandy. Will miss you terribly,” he wrote.

Actor Anil Kapoor shared a monochrome image of Pritish and recalled his friend’s fearless and larger-than-life personality. “I’ll always miss his presence, his voice, and the fearless spirit he brought to everything he did,” he wrote.

Sanjay Dutt, who worked on Pritish-produced films like Kaante (2002) and Shabd (2005), remembered him as a “true creative genius and a kind soul.”

Veteran actor Anupam Kher confirmed Pritish’s demise, sharing heartfelt words on X. “He was my support system and a source of strength in my initial days in Mumbai,” he wrote, adding that Pritish was fearless, larger than life, and one of his closest friends.

Born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, Pritish was a painter, poet, producer, and Rajya Sabha member. Known for his literary brilliance, he authored 40 books of poetry and translated works from various languages into English. He also exhibited his art, leaving an indelible mark on Indian culture.