HYDERABAD — Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, best known for directing the thriller drama Drishyam, died on Monday after battling liver cirrhosis for two years, AIG Hospitals said. He was 50.
Kamat, who had multiple organ failure, was admitted to the hospital on July 31 with complaints of fever and excessive fatigue.
“It was diagnosed that he was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, we started antibiotics and supportive medications upon which Mr Kamat showed improvement, but his condition soon deteriorated with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness,” the hospital said.
The director was immediately shifted to the ICU, where his general condition gradually declined, it said. “He had also developed respiratory failure and hypotension on Sunday. His condition deteriorated, eventually leading to multiple organ failure,” the hospital added.
Kamat, who also made the action film Force and the Irrfan Khan-led Madaari, died at 4.24 pm, it said.
“My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant,” his Drishyam star Ajay Devgn said on Twitter.
Kamat made his directorial debut with the Marathi film Dombivali Fast in 2005. His Bollywood debut was Mumbai Meri Jaan, also starring Irrfan.
Kamat played a negative role in John Abraham-starrer Rocky Handsome in 2016, which he also directed.
His biggest hit was the Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Drishyam, which was a remake of the Malayalam movie of the same name.