Veteran actor-director Govardhan Asrani, popularly known as Asrani, passed away on Monday evening around 4 PM in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. His sudden demise has come as a shock to the Bollywood industry, especially since the actor had shared Diwali 2025 wishes on his Instagram story earlier in the day.
Asrani's Last Rites Performed At Santacruz Crematorium
The actor’s last rites were performed earlier today at the Santacruz Crematorium, where Asrani’s family and close friends gathered to pay their respects
Asrani Did Not Want Any Commotion Following His Death
According to India TV, Asrani’s manager Babubhai Thiba shared that the actor had been unwell for some time.
Furthermore, reports suggested that the veteran actor did not want any commotion following his demise and had instructed his wife, Manju Asrani, not to announce the news publicly. As a result, the family performed his last rites quietly, without any formal announcement
Asrani, who was originally a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan, appeared in over 350 Hindi films.
The actor was best known for his role as the jailer in Sholay. He later starred in several hit films, including Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Dhamaal, Bunty Aur Babli 2, R... Rajkumar, All The Best, and Welcome, among others.
Born on January 1, 1941, into a Sindhi Hindu family in Jaipur, Asrani began learning acting under Sahitya Kalbhai Thakkar from 1960 to 1962. Later, he moved to Mumbai to pursue acting, and after an accidental meeting with Kishore Sahu and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, they advised him to train professionally.
He trained at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, where he honed his craft before entering the Hindi film industry in the mid-1960s.
Asrani's work also extended to Gujarati cinema, where he played lead roles from 1972 to 1984 and transitioned to character roles from 1985 to 2012.
