Popular television actors Rituraj K Singh, 59, and Kavita Chaudhary, 67, passed away due to cardiac arrest.
Chaudhary, best known for playing an IPS officer in ‘Udaan’, a progressive show about women empowerment, which ran on Doordarshan between 1989 and 1991, died at a hospital in Amritsar, Punjab last week.
The actress, who was also popular as the homemaker Lalitaji in HUL’s Surf detergent commercials in India in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago.
Her nephew Ajay Sayal confirmed news of her demise, saying, “She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later.”
‘Udaan’ was based on the inspiring story of Chaudhary’s sister Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, who decided to become a police officer when she saw her father being humiliated and the police refusing to register an FIR (First Information Report).
Apart from playing the lead character, Chaudhary also wrote and directed the show. Celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur also played an important role in Udaan, which was brought back on Doordarshan for a rerun during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her last rites were held in Punjab on February 16 morning. She is survived by Sayal and her niece.
Rituraj, who starred in the popular serial ‘Banegi Apni Baat’, faced a cardiac arrest at 12:30 am on February 20, his colleague and friend Amit Behl said, confirming the news.
He was recently seen in the role of Yashpal in the Rupali Ganguly TV serial ‘Anupamaa’. Apart from that, the actor had an illustrious career in both TV and the film industry. He was also seen in TV soaps like ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’, ‘Trideviyaan’, ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ and many others. He was also seen in the film ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’, alongside Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt.
