Nitesh Pandey Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Nitesh Pandey (1973-2023) was an Indian actor, writer, producer, and director, who had worked in many TV shows and films. He had a career of more than 25 years in Bollywood and was known for playing comic and supportive roles. He passed away in Igatpuri, Mumbai due to a cardiac arrest.

Wiki/Biography

Nitesh Kanti Pandey ^[1]Zauba Corp was born in Almora, Uttarakhand, India. As per one source, he was born on Wednesday, 17 January 1973 (age 50 years; at the time of death), and as per another source, he was born on Friday, 11 May 1973 (age 50 years; at the time of death). He did his schooling at St. Stanislaus High School, Mumbai. He pursued graduation in Sociology and History at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (1992). ^[2]Facebook – Nitesh Pandey He was interested in acting since his school days and participated in many plays and cultural programs. He started doing theatre after passing his school and learnt the nuances of acting under Pt. Satyadev Dubey, Sunil Shanbag, and Bhupendra Deshmukh. He moved to Hiranandani Garden Eden in Powai, Mumbai in 1990.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

He belongs to a Hindu Kumaoni family.

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Kanti Pandey. He has a younger brother.

Wife & Children

He got married to the actress Ashwini Kalsekar in 1998; however, the couple got divorced in 2002.

He got married to the actress Arpitaa Pandey (also spelt as Arpita Pandey)in Lucknow in 2003; Arpitaa is the granddaughter of noted author Amritlal Nagar. The couple has a son named Aarav.

Other Relatives

His mother-in-law’s name is Aarti Pandya. He has a brother-in-law named Siddharth Nagar. His maternal grandfather was the brother of the legendary poet Sumitranandan Pant.

Religion

He followed Hinduism.

Career

Actor

Plays/Dramas

He started working as a professional theatre actor in 1990, he acted in many plays including Aastha, Misal Pav, and Main Bhi Superman.

TV

He made his debut with the 1995 BITV TV show Tejas in which he played the role of a detective; however, the show was scrapped after a few episodes as BITV lost its satellite rights. He went on to work in many TV shows including Manzilein Apani Apani as Ankush in 2001, Justujoo as Mehul in 2002, Astitva…Ek Prem Kahani as Pranay in 2002, Jaankhilavan Jasoos as Jaankhilavan in 2010, Kuch Toh Log Kahenge as Armaan in 2011, Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara as Harish Kumar in 2012, Maharaj Ki Jai Ho! as King Dhritarasthra in 2020, Indiawaali Maa as Hasmukh ‘Hasu’ Gadhvi/Batuk Nath in 2020.

He took a break from TV as he was getting roles of father or uncle; however, he returned with the TV serial Anupamaa as Dheeraj Kapoor in 2023.

Films

He made his Bollywood debut with the 1995 film Baazi, starring Aamir Khan, and played a small role.

He acted as Mani in the 2006 film Khosla Ka Ghosla, as Anwar Sheikh (Shah Rukh Khan‘s assistant) in the 2007 film Om Shanti Om, as a doctor in Salman Khan starrer 2012 film Dabangg 2, as Deepak Surve in the 2015 film Hunterr, as Sanjay Jagtap in the Irrfan Khan starrer 2016 film Madaari, and as Prem Singh in the Rajkummar Rao starrer 2022 film Badhai Do.

Web Series

He debuted as Prakash Sharma in Season 4 of What the Folks in 2022 which streamed on Dice Media. In April 2023, he was cast in Bajao.

Producer & Director

He started his production company Dream Castle Entertainment Private Limited in 2014 and produced radio shows for 91.1 Radiocity FM and 92.7 Big FM. In 2017, he started another production company Big Guy Productions LLP and produced and directed two short films titled ‘Jale Tere Hoat’ and ‘Ab Nunu Ka Kya Hoga’; both short films won many international awards.

Car Collection

He owned a Mahindra SsangYong Rexton RX7 SUV.

Death

On the night of 24 May 2023, around 1:30 am, he died in his hotel room due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 50 years, He was shooting for a TV series in the Igatpuri area of Mumbai at the time of his death. ^[3]India Today

Facts/Trivia

• He was a dog lover and had three dogs named Boris, Duke, and Oscar.
  

  A photo of Nitesh Pandey with his dogs, Oscar, Boris, and Duke

• He was an active member of many social campaigns such as Save The Rivers campaign for which he was congratulated by Indian spiritual teacher Sadhguru.
  

  A message posted by Nitesh Pandey for Save The Rivers campaign

  

  Nitesh Pandey was appreciated by Sadhguru for his participation in Save The Rivers Campaign

• Although he was a non-vegetarian for a major part of his life, he turned vegetarian in 2018. He was a very good chef and could cook both, vegetarian, and non-vegetarian dishes.
  

  A photo of food prepared by Nitesh Pandey

• He used to give acting classes through his acting studio The Focus Theatre Studio. ^[4]YouTube – The Focus Theatre Studio
  

  A photo of Nitesh Pandey while giving acting lessons

• He was a supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and often used to showcase his support for Arvind Kejriwal on his social media accounts.
  

  A tweet by Nitesh Pandey in support of Arvind Kejriwal

• He used to regularly practice Yoga.

• He also shot various advertisements for different brands.
  

  Nitesh Pandey (right) with Daler Mehndi during the shoot of an advertisement

• He was a tennis fan and regularly went to watch matches.
  

  A tweet by Nitesh Pandey watching a Tennis match

• His favourite film was A Fish Called Wanda.