Nishikant Kamat

Nishikant Kamat was an Indian filmmaker and actor who made his mark in both Hindi and Marathi cinema. He started his career as a cultural secretary in college and then worked as an assistant with an ad filmmaker in Mumbai. He also worked as an editor, TV director and writer before making his debut as a film director with Dombivali Fast (2005), a Marathi film inspired by Falling Down (1993). The film won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi and he later remade it in Tamil as Evano Oruvan (2007) with R. Madhavan. His first Hindi film as a director was Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), which was based on the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. He followed it with Force (2011), a remake of the Tamil film Kaakha Kaakha (2003), starring John Abraham and Vidyut Jammwal. He also directed the Hindi remake of the Malayalam film Drishyam (2013), starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu, which was a huge commercial success. His other notable films include Lai Bhaari (2014), Rocky Handsome (2016), Madaari (2016) and Fugay (2017). He also acted in some films, such as Hava Aney Dey (2004), 404 Error Not Found (2011), Rocky Handsome (2016), Daddy (2017) and Julie 2 (2017). He also worked as a creative producer for the web series The Final Call and Rangbaaz Phirse. He was known for his realistic and socially relevant films that dealt with various issues and themes. He was also praised for his versatility and ability to work in different genres and languages. He was a close friend of actor Riteish Deshmukh, who starred in his film Lai Bhaari. Kamat was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in 2018 and was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad on July 31, 2020 with fever and fatigue. He suffered from multiple organ failure and died on August 17, 2020 at the age of 50. He was mourned by many celebrities and fans who remembered him as a talented and ever-smiling filmmaker.