Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Anupam Kher were among those who mourned the death of noted theatre director, actor, playwright, and acting coach Hemendra Bhatia. An alumus of FTII, Hemendra featured in films like I Did Not Kill Gandhi, Satta, and the TV series Bharat Ek Khoj. He also taught acting to Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Deepika Padukone among others. Also Read| ‘Proud’ Anupam Kher runs into former student Deepika Padukone
Hemendra Bhatia died in Mumbai on the morning of Tuesday, August 30. Anupam Kher took to his Twitter account to pay tribute to the theatre artiste. The actor also recalled his first meeting with Hemendra, who was the first and the only dean of his acting school, Actor Prepares.
Anupam wrote in a note on Twitter, “Bhatia Saab the great: I met #HemendraBhatia in Sept.1979 at #BhartenduNatyaAcademy in Lucknow. It was my first job as a teacher. We both were part of the faculty under #RajBisariaJi. Even though I was 24 he decided to call me #KherSaab. We have been friends since then. Later when I established @actorprepares. I asked him to help me design the school. He became the first and the only dean of our acting school. We did plays together. And remained friends. He was my confidant!”
The actor further remembered the late artiste as a ‘brilliant little shy, very giving, warm, passionate, short-tempered, large hearted’ person who was ‘amazing at his craft’ and was also a ‘wonderful storyteller, emotional, and an eternal optimist’ among many more things. He concluded, “He went to a better world. But too soon. I will miss you #Bhatiasaab and our conversations over a cup of coffee.”
Anupam also shared a snapshot of a WhatsApp conversation between him and Hemendra, in which the latter was thanking the actor for expressing his concerns about some matter. Anupam captioned his post, “The song is ended…But the melody lingers on.” He also shared a tribute posted on the Twitter account of his acting academy Actor Prepares. The post also had pictures of the late artiste including a group photo that featured him, Anupam, and Deepika Padukone among others.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui also took to his Twitter account to pen a post for his late acting teacher. Sharing a picture of Hemendra, the actor wrote, “My teacher Shri Hemendra Bhatia who taught me the techniques of acting and also gave me my early opportunities under his direction passed away today morning. It’s an irreparable loss to the theatre world. May his soul rest in peace.”