It was very sad not to see anything about the demise of such a great artist on any of the Uttarakhandi forums.I have collected a few articles and photos from the net and am posting them here.
Nirmal Pandey (born 1961/1962 – 18 February 2010) was an Indian Bollywood actor, who was known for his role Vikram Mallah in Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen (1994), for portrayal of a transvestite in Daayraa (1996) for which he won a Best Actor Valenti award in France, Train To Pakistan (1998) and Godmother (1999).[2][1]
He was supposed to watch his latest film Lahore on 22 February 2010 at a special screening with Legendary Humorist R. K. Laxman and Music Maestro MM Kreem. Lahore, scheduled to be released in 19 March 2010, would prove to be Pandey's last film.
Early life and education
Born in Nainital, Uttarakhand, Nirmal Pandey was educated at Almora and Nainital. He graduated from the National School of Drama, Delhi
Career
After leaving the National School of Drama he moved to London, with a theatre group, Tara, performing plays like Heer Ranjha, Antigone, and has acted in around 125 plays [2]. After doing two small roles, he first got noticed in Shekhar Kapur's acclaimed Bandit Queen (1996), there after he received rave reviews for films like, Amol Palekar's Daayra (Square Circle) (1996), Train To Pakistan (1998), Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi and Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain.[3][4] He also acted in movies like Laila, 'Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya', 'One 2 ka 4' and 'Shikari' and acted in several television serials, including Hatim, and Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag (2005) (Star Plus) .
In addition to being an actor, he was also a singer, who released an album called Jazba. In 2002, he directed, Andhayug, a Hindi play, written by noted playwright Dharamveer Bharati, which follows the 18 days following the Mahabharata war. The play has a cast of 70 actors, all of whom belong to Sanvedna, a theatre group started by him in 1994.He also has an acting institute "Fresh Talent Academy" in Ghazaiabad [5], and also conducts theatre workshops
Death
Pandey died at the age of 48 on 18 February 2010 from a heart attack in Mumbai.[7]
Personal life
Nirmal Pandey was married to Archana Sharma. He is survived by his wife and two children.[8]
Actor Nirmal Pandey, best known for his role as Vikram Mallah in Bandit Queen, died on Thursday following a heart attack. He was 48. He is survived by wife Archana Pandey.
Born in Nainital, Pandey, an alumnus of the National School of Drama in Delhi, made his debut in Bollywood in 1996 as a transvestite in Amol Palekar’s Daayraa . It won him the Best Actress Award with Sonali Kulkarni, the female lead of the film, at the Valenciennes Film Festival in France in 1997.
Some of his most memorable performances include his roles in Sudhir Mishra’s Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Vinay Shukla’s Godmother. Pandey later ventured into television where he acted in shows like Hatim and Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag.
Pandey’s death comes as a shock to filmmaker Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan whose film Lahore, with the actor in a key role, is due for release on March 19. “I rushed to the hospital as soon as I heard about it. I had a word with him two days ago and we were to shoot the making of the film on Friday. It is unfortunate that he passed away so young,” he said.
Woh kaun? Nirmal Pandey
Murli Sharma
New Delhi, September 22: He is one actor who hasn’t changed a bit. Down to earth, soft-spoken, warm, easily accessible... Honestly, actor Nirmal Pandey is just a phone call away. Contrary to the roles he plays on screen, in real life he is a thorough gentleman.
To date all his performances have stood out. Be it Bandit Queen, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Train To Pakistan, God Mother, Daayra (in which he played a transvestite and won the Best Actress Valenti award in France!) or be it his television appearance in Sony TV’s Khel — he’s always been appreciated. Now, he is back on the box with a racy thriller, Woh Kaun (Sahara) and is busy with the play Andha Yug which he has directed.
Pandey likes to get to the point and state it briefly. ‘‘The going is good,’’ he says, sipping piping hot chai, ‘‘Enjoying myself. Continuing to do good work which satisfies the actor in me.’’ We are meeting at the Manotech studio where he is shooting for Woh Kaun which began a fortnight ago. The series has different stories, each spanning a certain number of episodes. Interestingly, Pandey will play different characters in the series.The first story saw the talented actor playing a man on the run in Faraar. In his next episode, you will see him as a rich industrialist, who hates women because his wife has eloped with another man, leaving behind their daughter. Whenever he employs a governess for the child, she’s killed. ‘‘So I am the chief suspect because I don’t like women at all. Am I behind the murders?,’’ asks Pandey, ‘‘watch and find out.’’
In the episode he is currently shooting, he plays Das — man who engineers a complex crime. ‘‘I am the mastermind,’’ he explains.
‘It’s great playing a different part every week. It’s also very challenging,’’ he adds. Apart from the TV series, Pandey is busy with his play Andha Yug which is based on Mahabharat and he says he enjoys directing. He is a meticulous director: before he went on stage he held rehearsals and readings for over a month. Unbelievably, the play has 55 characters. ‘‘It is very contemporary. It is anti-war. I am glad people have liked it. I have directed many plays before but this one is my first in this city. Theatre was and will always be my first love,’’ adds the actor.
Pandey has either acted or directed since his school days in Nainital. He is a graduate of the National School of Drama who went on to do theatre in London. So far he’s acted in approximately 125 plays. As for films, he awaits the release of three films — Kaboo, Path and Deewangee. He’s quite excited about a new film he’s signed: its called Prabhu Ke Gun Gaon and he plays the part of 70-year old man who is a qawwali singer who loses his voice. ‘‘It’s a heart-warming story,’’ says Pandey, looking quite excited.
There’s more from him on the small screen too — A historical called Keshav Dutta for Star Plus in which he plays Adi Kali, a Kali devotee who is a powerful priest in the Vijaynagar dynasty. ‘‘It’s a difficult role. Keshav is a very powerful man and the main destructive force,’’ he reveals. Then, there is Chandragupt which deals ‘‘with the complexities of relationships’’.
All in all, Nirmal Pandey is going to remain a very busy actor.
'Bandit Queen' star Nirmal Pandey dead
NEW DELHI: Blessed with intensity, Nirmal Pandey caught everybody’s attention with a string of compelling performances in the second half of 1990s. The 48-year-old actor, who stood out with his long flowing hair, passed away on Thursday after a heart attack in Mumbai.
Originally from the theatre, Pandey’s best celluloid portrayals will endure in memory. The charismatic Vikram Mallah, who saves Phoolan Devi’s honour and becomes her lover till he is betrayed and shot in Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen (1994), the passionate rustic goon Jagga who’s madly in love and lust with the daughter of a Muslim artisan in Train to Pakistan (1998), the two-timing corporate executive who has a night to remember in Is Raat ki Subaah Nahin (1996) and Baba, the wild and vicious gangster in Auzaar (1997) – Pandey imbued these characters with suitable degrees of charm, menace, even ordinariness as required.
That’s not all. His performance of a transvestite in Amol Palekar’s Daayra (1996) won him the best actress award (jointly with heroine Sonali Kulkarni) at France’s Valenciennes film festival. The NSD alumnus also earned acclaim for his part in Godmother (1999).
Much of his potential remained untapped. Pandey got trapped in mediocre Bollywood masala. Movies like Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000) hardly added to his resume. The actor also tried his hand at singing and released an album, Jazba, which again did not do well.
Between the years 2003-08, Pandey, who went to school in Uttarakhand’s pleasant hill town Nainital, had become an extremely popular villain among kids for his role of Dajjal in the television serial, Hatim. One of his forthcoming films is Lahore, where he plays a Pakistani.
Nirmal Pandey will be remembered and missed.
