Film photo-journalist Pradeep Bandekar dies following heart attack

Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) Veteran film photo-journalist Pradeep Bandekar died on early Sunday morning at his residence due to a heart attack.

Bandekar, who was a favourite of many Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Shah Rukh Khan, and Sanjay Dutt, was in his early 70s.

“He passed away at 2.30 am at his residence in Powai. He started feeling uneasy after he returned home from a family dinner in the early hours of Sunday.

“His son Prathamesh immediately rushed him to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctor,” a source close to the family told PTI.

The last rites are underway, he added.

A respected name in the Mumbai media circuit, Bandekar — whose career spanned over four decades — had worked with several leading newspapers of the city.

Actors Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu, and Neil Nitin Mukesh paid tribute to the senior photo-journalist on social media.

“Pradeep Bandekar ji’s passing is a personal loss…His decades-long bond with our family goes beyond the lens….He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered. Om Shanti,” Devgn wrote on X.

“RIP Pradeep ji. strength to the family,” Basu said in her Instagram Stories.

“Pradeep ji you will be missed. Rest in peace,” said Neil Nitin Mukesh on Instagram.