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B-town mourns death of Sholay actor Viju Khote

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(Twitter/@bomanirani)


Veteran actor of Marathi and Hindi films Viju Khote, who was popular for his ‘Kalia’ character from the 1975 classic film Sholay died on Monday morning.

He was 78 years old and is survived by his sister actress Shubha Khote, who is 5-years older to him. He made his big-screen debut with Ya Malak in 1964 and worked in over 300 films, including Phir Hera Pheri and Andaz Apna Apna.

Renowned for comedy roles, Viju was famed for creating one of the most iconic scenes in Hindi cinema. In Sholay, when Gabbar Singh asks, Kitne Aadmi The?”, his response, “Do, Sarkar”, which said that they(gang members) failed their lord Gabbar (Amjad Khan) in a fight sequence with the leading heroes, Amitabh Bachchan, and Dharmendra respectively. This particular scene from celluloid has been re-created, enacted and adapted innumerable times, and remains till today a characteristic imprint of Bollywood as we know it.

After the veteran passed away, Bollywood celebrities such as Rishi Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, and Ajay Devgn mourned his death and paid homage to the legacy he left behind.

Here’s what the celebrities had to say:

Boman Irani took to his official Twitter handle and wrote,” Darling colleague Viju Khote is no more. Hilarious on stage, iconic on-screen and a darling of a human being in real life. Such a loving and humble soul. Will miss you Bawa (sic).”

Abhishek Bachchan wrote, ” #VijuKhote ji, rest in love! You had so much of it to give. My condolences to his family(sic).”

Madhuri Dixit Nene wrote, ” Sad to hear about the demise of #VijuKhote Ji. May his soul rest in peace(sic).”

Ajay Devgn wrote, “Actors like Viju Khote were institutions by themselves. Their large body of work will always be remembered. I’m fortunate to have worked with him on quite a few films. RIP Sir My heartfelt condolences to the family (sic).”

Suniel Shetty wrote, “Will miss you Viju ji… Rest in peace #vijukhote #RIPVijukhote (sic).”

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