Vijay Galani, producer of Ajnabee, dies of blood cancer

Producer Vijay Galani died yesterday in London after a battle with blood cancer. He had been in the European city for some time to undergo treatment. Galani was in his late 50s and is survived by his wife, son and daughter. 

The news was shared by the Indian Film Television and Producers Council (IFTPC) on Instagram. The post read, “Deeply heart-breaking and saddening news of our beloved IFTPC director and Indian film producer Vijay Galani passing away. You always inspired and motivated us. Will dearly miss you. RIP. Heartfelt condolences to the family and friends."

Galani's first Hindi project was the Salman Khan-starrer Suryavanshi (1992). He was given special thanks in Rohit Shetty’s recently released Sooryavanshi (2021) for allowing the use of the title since he had the rights for the same. 

Galani’s most successful outing was Abbas-Mustan’s Ajnabee (2001), which starred Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Bipasha Basu. He also produced Achanak (1998), Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005), the Salman Khan-starrer Veer (2010), LoveShhuda (2016) and Mahesh Manjrekar’s The Power (2021), which starred Vidyut Jammwal and Shruti Haasan. 

Producer Vashu Bhagnani mourned Galani’s death on Twitter. He wrote, “Heartbroken and shocked to hear about the passing away of Vijay Gelani!! Strength to the family to cope with this huge loss (sic)."