Nitu Chandra remembers late Pradeep Sarkar: He was grappling with a lot of health issues

For actor Nitu Chandra, filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar’s demise is more like a personal loss, as she is very close to his family. She reveals that the filmmaker was not doing well in terms of his health for quite some time.

Sarkar, known for directing Parineeta (2005), Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), Lafangey Parindey (2010), Mardaani (2014) and Helicopter Eela (2018), passed away in Mumbai on Friday. He was 67.

Chandra revealed that she met Sarkar just three weeks ago at his residence in Mumbai, where she found out that he was not doing well. She got to know that he was suffering from kidney issues and was undergoing dialysis with his potassium levels having fallen low.

“When I met him some three weeks back, he was not well at all. He was struggling with several health issues for quite some time. He was saying also ‘meri tabiyat thik nahi hai’. We told him to take care of himself and rest, mentioning that he could work on his projects once he is better. In fact, his wife Panchali and sister Madhu were also very concerned,” Chandra says, revealing he was still involved with his scripts.

The actor adds, “There were a lot of health issues that he was facing which we don’t want to specify, but kidney issue was one of them. He was on dialysis. He was always trying a new diet to lose weight”.

She got the message from his sister Madhu about his demise, which has left her heartbroken.

“While he was not doing well, we never imagined that we would lose him. We were hoping for him to bounce back. He was eating food on the table, and talking to us. He had a will to get better, Bhabhi was taking care. He wanted to recover,” she shares.

Chandra reveals, “I went to their place, and will go there again. Everyone is really sad and trying to come to terms with reality”.

Now, she is clutching onto her memories of him and coming to terms to reality.

“He was the first one with whom I worked in the industry, since then I got close to the entire family. He was like a big brother to me. I remember him as someone who was always smiling, and a very genuine man. Nobody portrayed women as traditional and classy in modern times, in the most beautiful way as he did. He will be remembered for his projects. There was nobody like him and there will never be one,” she ends.