‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ actor Vaibhavi Upadhyaya dies in road accident

Shimla, May 24 (PTI) Actor Vaibhavi Upadhyaya, best known for TV series “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai: Take 2”, has died in a road accident in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, police said.

Upadhyaya died on Monday after her SUV fell into a gorge near Sidhwan in the Banjar area of Kullu district. The accident occurred when the driver of the car was negotiating a steep curve.

“Vaibhavi tried to get out of the vehicle through the window and sustained a head injury which proved fatal. She was rushed to civil hospital Banjar where the doctors declared her dead,” SP Kullu Sakshi Verma told PTI.

The body of the deceased was handed over to her brother Ankit Upadhyaya after postmortem. Her family stays in Chandigarh.

The driver of the car survived the crash with minor injuries.

A case of rash and negligent driving endangering life has been registered and investigations are underway, police said.

The last rites of the actor, who was in her 30s, will be held in Mumbai on Wednesday.

On “Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai”, Upadhyaya starred as Jasmine Mawani, the love interest of Rosesh, played by Rajesh Kumar.

Her fiery character would often crack up viewers with her foot-in-the-mouth literal Gujarati to English translations.

Upadhyaya’s Jasmine was also popular for the Gujarati catchphrase “Khot nat kehti” (I don’t lie) and for standing up to family matriarch, the elite Maya Sarabhai (Ratna Pathak Shah).

“Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai” cast members also paid tributes to the late actor on social media.

Satish Shah, who played the Sarabhai family patriarch Indravadan, remembered Upadhyaya as “a fine actor and a colleague”.

“The whole SvS team is in shock. Om Shanti,” Shah tweeted.

“Shocking! A very fine actress and a dear friend Vaibhavi Upadhyaya, popularly known as ‘Jasmine’ of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai passed away,” wrote the show’s actor-director Deven Bhojani on Twitter.

Rupali Ganguly, who played Monisha in “Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai”, said she was shocked to know about Upadhyaya’s demise.

“Gone too soon Vaibhavi…” wrote the “Anupamaa” star on her Instagram Stories alongside a still of the late actor from their show.

“Can’t believe this,” Ganguly captioned another picture of Upadhyaya.

Sumeet Raghvan said he was in a state of shock.

“Absolutely numb. #vaibhaviupadhyaya Om Shanti,” tweeted the actor, who played Sahil in “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai”.

Upadhyaya’s acting credits also include the Deepika Padukone-starrer “Chhapaak” and TV shows such as “CID” and “Adaalat”.