Friends bid goodbye to TV’s endearing Khopdi Sameer Khakhar

Senior actor Sameer Khakhar (70), best known as Khopdi in the TV world, passed away yesterday in Mumbai due to multiple organ failure. Pavan Malhotra, who shared screen space with Khakhar in Nukkad, said, “He was extremely talented and added to every scene in the show. I remember in those days... we used to take three days to shoot an episode. All our characters are remembered even today, especially Khopdi. Sameer was a talented and fun-loving guy.”

Khakhar’s last TV show was Sanjivani 2, a couple of years ago. He played the lead actor’s uncle in the show, who is childlike and keeps forgetting things. Producer of the show, Siddharth P Malhotra, shared, “When this character was written, we wanted to cast only him. Whatever scenes he had in the show lifted the quality of the show. His passing away is sad and heartbreaking.”

Director Hansal Mehta also tweeted for Khakhar. He wrote, “For some reason, I was nicknamed Khopdi in college after his iconic character in Nukkad. My closest friends from the time still call me Khopdi. But I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the OG. Goodbye, Sameer Khakhar. Thank you for the memories (sic).”