Actor Riteish Deshmukh on Friday took to Twitter to dismiss reports that director Nishikant Kamat, known for his films Drishyam and Madaari, had passed away. The actor tweeted that he is ‘alive and fighting’ and asked for people to pray for his health.
Nishikant has been admitted to the intensive care unit of AIG Hospitals in Hyderabad for the treatment of chronic liver disease, the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.
“He is sick but he has not passed away. He is in the ICU and he is critically ill,” AIG Hospital PRO Satyanarayana told TNM.
After several media reports and even celebrities had claimed the director had passed away, Riteish, who worked with him in the Marathi movie Lai Bhaari, dismissed such reports. Several other industry professionals also clarified that he on ventilator support and continues to receive treatment.
Nishikant kamat is on ventilator support. He is still alive & fighting. Let’s pray for him.
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) August 17, 2020
"He is not dead, he is on ventilator. But his condition is very critical," his industry friend and director Milap Zaveri also told PTI.
Still fighting. Prayers. #NishikantKamat sir
— Mukesh Chhabra CSA (@CastingChhabra) August 17, 2020
#NishikantKamat is still on life support and fighting. Please don’t tweet otherwise. Pray for him.
— Nikhil Mahajan (@iamnm) August 17, 2020
Fifty-year-old Kamat had been admitted on July 31 to the private hospital in Gachibowli with "jaundice and abdominal distention". The director was also suffering from "secondary infections" and is currently under the supervision of senior doctors.
"He has been diagnosed with chronic liver disease and other secondary infections. He is in the intensive care unit for continuous monitoring under supervision of a multi-disciplinary team of senior consultants comprising gastroenterologists, hepatologists, critical care and others. His condition is stable but critical," the hospital had said in a statement.
Kamat made his directorial debut with the Marathi film Dombivali Fast in 2005. His Bollywood debut was the 2008 movie Mumbai Meri Jaan, starring Irrfan and R Madhavan. Kamat also played the negative role in John Abraham-starrer Rocky Handsome in 2016, which he also directed. His biggest hit was the Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Drishyam, which was a remake of the Malayalam movie of the same name.