Veteran Marathi actor Ramchandra Dhumal dies aged 71

Veteran Marathi theatre and film actor Ramchandra Dhumal died in Pune today. Dhumal, 71, had not been keeping well for the past few months.

Known among colleagues as Dhumal kaka, the actor was best known for his work in theatre and for the supporting characters he played in numerous Marathi movies. Some of the prominent films in which he appeared were Gallit Gondhal, Dillit Mujra (2009), Fandry (2014), Timepass (2014), Khwada (2015), Sairat (2016), Mulshi Pattern (2018) and Mhorkya (2020).

Dhumal has appeared in a couple of web-series like Sacred Games (Hindi) and Pandu (Marathi). He appeared in only one episode of Pandu but had a more prominent role in the Netflix Original series Sacred Games, where he played the father of the central character, Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

Veteran actor Shashank Shende paid tribute to Dhumal on Facebook. He posted a picture of the actor and wrote, “Dear friend Ramchandra Dhumal... Goodbye!”

Upcoming actor Rohit Sanghavi, who appeared with Dhumal a few times, including in the Swwapnil Joshi-starrer Me Pan Sachin (2019), wrote on Facebook, “He [Dhumal] used to act in a way that you couldn't differentiate between character and actor. Off camera he used to be in a jovial and fun mood. His enthusiasm and energy were high even at this age. After proving himself through small roles and characters, Kaka was getting recognized, but... Whenever someone asks me to name someone who is a master at subtle, natural and realistic performance, I always take Dhumal kaka's name. I really loved his work in Mhorkya.”