The year 2022 saw many of our beloved celebs bidding adieu to mortal life. These losses from our film and TV fraternity have left a deep void in the hearts of fans and the industry. From thespians to musical legends to young and upcoming stars, the gaps left by their deaths can never be filled.
Here are the most famous celebrity deaths of 2022:
Lata Mangeshkar
Bharat Ratna and popularly called the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar breathed her last on February 6, 2022 at the age of 92 years. Widely dubbed as Queen of Melody and Voice of the Millennium, Lata Mangeshkar’s contribution to the film industry has been remarkable in a career spanning seven decades. She passed away from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and had been in regular therapy for pneumonia after she tested positive for coronavirus. Lata Mangeshkar’s demise sent her countless fans in mourning including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders. A two-day state mourning was announced by the Indian government for the legendary singer and she was cremated with full state honours in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Sidhu Moosewala
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, aka Sidhu Moosewala or Sidhu Moose Wala was an Indian musician, rapper, songwriter and actor best known for his work in Punjabi music and cinema. One of the most influential Punjabi performers, he was shot dead by unidentified assailants on May 29, 2022 and a Canada-based gangster, active in Punjab claimed responsibility for the killing, which according to the police was a result of inter-gang rivalry. He rose to fame with his track So High and in 2018 he released his debut album PBX 1, which peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. His single 47 was ranked on the UK Singles Chart. He was only 28 years old when he passed away.
Raju Srivastav
Well-known comedian and actor, Raju Srivastav passed away on September 21, 2022 at the age of 58 years. He was admitted to Delhi’s AIIMS on August 10 after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while working out on a treadmill. Since then he was on a ventilator with little to no improvement in his health. Despite working in several films, Raju became a household name after competing in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge season 1 and became the runner up. He won the title of "The King of Comedy" in its spin-off show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge – Champions. He did many stand-up comedy live shows and made his fictional character of Gajodhar Bhaiya extremely popular with the masses. Raju was credited for bringing a clean and family-oriented situational and anecdotal comedy in his acts that was clean and devoid of any vulgarity and expletives. His passing left several celebs and his numerous fans heartbroken.
Vikram Gokhale
Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale, known for his illustrious career in the Hindi and Marathi entertainment industry breathed his last on November 26, 2022 at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. He was 77 years old. Gokhale was reportedly admitted in a critical condition around 15 days before his death. A prolific actor, Gokhale started his acting career in 1971 with Parwana. He then went on to win the audience's hearts by playing important roles in films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Agneepath, Khuda Gawah, Bhool Bhulaiyaa etc. The veteran actor also won the National Award for Best Actor in 2010 for his performance in the Marathi film Anumati. Apart from acting, he directed the Marathi film Aaghaat. His last Hindi film was Nikamma and Marathi film was Godavari.
Bappi Lahiri
Veteran singer and music composer Bappi Lahiri, born as Alokesh Lahiri also went to his heavenly abode this year. He passed away at Mumbai’s CritiCare Hospital on February 15, 2022. He was suffering from multiple health issues and was admitted to the hospital for a month prior to his death. Well-known for wearing numerous gold chains, Bappi idolized Elvis Presley since childhood and had his own signature music in Bollywood. He popularized the use of synthesized disco music in Hindi films and often sang his own peppy dance numbers that still stand the test of time on the popularity scale. He was popularly called as Disco King of India due to his chartbusting musical numbers in Hindi films.
KK
KK passed away hours after a concert in Kolkata on My 31, 2022. The singer’s untimely and sudden death sent shock waves though the hearts of his friends, family and fans and left everyone shaken. Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, suffered a massive cardiac arrest after falling ill post a concert in Kolkata’s Nazrul Mandha auditorium. The singer had shared priceless moments from his concert a few hours prior to his death on social media and had written, ““Pulsating gig tonight at Nazrul Mancha. Vivekananda College !! Love you all #KKLive #KKTeam.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several celebs including Vishal Bhardwaj expressed their grief over his sudden demise.
Tunisha Sharma
Tunisha Sharma, who was seen as Shehzaadi Mariam in Sab TV's show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul, passed away at the age of 20. She died by suicide on December 24. Her co-star from the show Sheezan Khan has been arrested for allegedly abetting her suicide. The two were in a relationship and had broken up only two weeks before her death. Sheezan has been sent to judicial custody and the police are investigating the case.
Birju Maharaj
Pandit Birju Maharaj, born Brijmohan Nath Mishra was another famous Indian who passed away this year on January 16, 2022. He was an Indian dancer, composer, singer and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. Renowned Katahk dancer, Birju Maharaj passed away at 83 years of age after suffering a massive heart attack. A descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, he was fondly called Panditji or Maharajji by his disciples. Apart from being a world-renowned Kathak dancer, Birju Maharaj was also a great singer who had command over forms like Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan and Ghazal. Birju Maharaj choreographed the song Kaahe Chhed Mohe from Devdas featuring Madhuri Dixit. He won a National Award for Unnai Kaanaathu (Vishwaroopam) and a Filmfare award for Deepika Padukone's song Mohe Rang Do Laal (Bajirao Mastani). He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government in 1986.
Krishna Babu
Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy known mononymously as Krishna, was an actor, director and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema passed away this year on November 15, 2022 at the age of 80. He was known as the first superstar of Telugu cinema and was the father of actor Mahesh Babu. He was admitted to Hyderabad's Continental Hospital during the early hours of November 14 after he suffered a cardiac arrest. He had an illustrious career spanning five decades and worked in around 350 films and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2009 for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Sonali Phogat
BJP member and actress Sonali Phogat passed away on August 23, 2022 due to a suspected heart attack. She was in Goa with her staff members, reportedly for a shoot. While reports claim it was a heart attack, Sonali's family members refuse to believe it. Her sister, talking to a media agency, suspected a foul play in her untimely demise. Recalling her last conversation with Sonali, her sister demanded a CBI investigation. A case of unnatural death was registered by the police. The politician-actress gained additional popularity after participating in Bigg Boss 14 as a wild card contestant.
Siddhaanth Vir Surryavanshi aka Anand Vir Suryavanshi
Siddhaanth Vir Surryavanshi, who was one of the most popular names in the television industry passed away this year on November 11. The actor passed away during working out in the gym. The actor had changed his name form Anand Suryavanshi to Siddhaanth Surryavanshi recently. As per reports he collapsed in the gym and was rushed to the hospital where doctors tried to revive him for 45 mins but finally gave up.
Tabassum
Veteran actress and renowned talk show host Tabassum breathed her last at 48 years of age on November 18, 2022. Her real name was Kiran Bala Govil and had started her career as a child actor in 1947. She later had a television career as the host of first TV talk show of Indian television, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan. It ran on National broadcaster Doordarshan from 1972 to 1993, wherein she interviewed film and TV personalities.
Vaishali Takkar
TV actress Vaishali Takkar died by suicide on October 15, 2022. Her body was found hanging at her Indore residence in Madhya Pradesh along with a suicide note. Vaishali was a popular TV actress who gained fame with Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Sasural Simar Ka and Sanjog. Vaishali was only 30 years old. Vaishali had gotten engaged to Dr Abhinandan Singh Hundal on April 28, 2021 but later had called off their June wedding. In her suicide note she had accused her ex-boyfriend and neighbour of physical and mental harassment in a 5-page letter. Vaishali stated in her 5-page suicide note that ex-boyfriend and neighbour Rahul Navlani and his wife Diksha were harassing her by abusing her physically and mentally.
Aindrila Sharma
Bengali actress and cancer survivor Aindrila Sharma passed away on November 20 at a hospital in Kolkata, where she was undergoing treatment after suffering multiple cardiac arrests earlier in the week. The actress was only 24 years old. The actress suffered multiple cardiac arrests on the night of November 19 and was given CPR. Although the critical condition was managed, Aindrila breathed her last at 12.59 pm as per the hospital sources. Aindrila was kept on ventilator support at a private hospital in Howrah and was in critical health. She was hospitalized on November 1 after suffering a brain stroke. She had an intracranial hemorrhage and had to undergo left frontotemporoparietal de-compressive craniotomy surgery. On November 14, she suffered multiple heart attacks after which her condition worsened. Aindrila was a cancer survivor and was born and brought up in Berhampore. She had defeated cancer twice before. She made her television debut with Jhumur and went on to star in shows like Mahapeeth Tarapeeth, Jibon Jyoti and Jiyon Kathi. She was also part of movies like Ami Didi No 1 and Love Cafe.
Other Deaths
Besides the above mentioned, we also lost several other celebs including santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Arun Bali, Sunil Shinde, Rahul Koli, Parag Kansara, Umesh Jivnani, Nishi Singh Bhadli, Rasik Dave, Deepesh Bhan, Bhupinder Singh, Pandit Bhajan Sapori, Mohan Juneja, Prema Kiran, Tarsame Singh Saini aka Taz Stereo Nation, Salim Ghouse, T Rama Rao, Manju Singh, Shiv Subrahmanyam, MC Tod Fod, Deep Sidhu, Praveen Kumar Sobti, Ramesh Deo, Amitabh Dayal, Krishnam Raju, Vinod Dua, Rashmirekha Ojha, Chethana Raj, Esmayeel Shroff, Saawan Kumar Tak, Rakesh Jhujhunwala, Mithilesh Chaturvedi and Ravi Tandon.
