Dharmesh Tiwari dead

Actor Dharmesh Tiwari, who is remembered for playing Kripacharya in epic TV show "Mahabharat", died here Wednesday. His friends said the cause of death could be diabetes. He was 63.

Tiwari is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Tiwari, who was also the Genral secretary of Cine & T.V Artistes Association (CINTAA) and president of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), had come here for a show.

"He passed away today (Wednesday) morning in Chandigarh. He had gone there for a show," Raza Murad, who was close friends with Tiwari, told IANS.

"He had high diabetes and this might be one of the reasons for his death. Despite having high diabetes, he was very active. It's a huge loss to the fraternity," he added.

Gajendra Chauhan, vice president of CINTA, said his body will be flown to Mumbai in the evening.

"He was feeling uneasy in the morning, so he was admitted to a hospital, where he passed away. There is a flight to Mumbai from Amritsar at 3.50 p.m. so the family members are planning to take his body and accordingly we will decide his funeral."

Small screen stars Rohit Roy and Dolly Bindra condoled his death and took to Twitter to express thier grief and sorrow.

Rohit Roy: Oh god.. Terrible news early in the morning...Dharmesh Tiwari, who's been pivotal in sorting out problems of our industry passed by. RIP.

Dolly Bindra: Hon sec cintaa Shri Dharmesh tiwariji left for heavenly abode date 6/8/2014 time now.

Kunickaa Sadanand: Shocked and numbed at the news of the sudden demise of Shri Dharmesh Tiwari. Actor , director, president of our cine artists association. And Chaiperson of our allied unions of the film industry. He has been serving the fraternity selflessly for more than two decades.

It was just a few weeks back when he came and spoke to all the artists on our sets. Sensitizing us about our rights n responsibilities. May your soul rest in peace Dharmeshji, we will definitely feel the void. And it will be difficult for anyone to fit into ur shoes.

Ashoke Pandit: Dharmesh Tiwari, who is no more, was also the President of Cine Artiste Association. Devoted his life for the cause of the workers.RIP.