‘Taarak Mehta ka ooltah chasmah’ star Kavi Kumar Azaad passes away

Actor Kavi Kumar Azaad, who played the character of Dr Hansraaj Hathi on the popular show "Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah", had passed away on Monday after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Azaad aged 46, had played the role of Dr Hathi for a year after replacing actor Nirmal Soni since the start of the show in 2009.

In Twitter, the show's official handle posted, "Team #TMKOC & #NeelaTeleFilms regrets to inform about the loss of our beloved Kavi Kumar Azaad aka @DrHaathi_TMKOC. He was a talented actor with an optimistic personality who never missed a chance to make people smile. Thank you for all the fun-filled laughter memories #RIPDrHathi".

As per reports, Azaad was unwell and had been admitted to Wokhardt Hospital. He had slipped into a coma on Sunday.

The other actors of the show, including Dilip Joshi and Munmun Dutta, have expressed their grief on the actor's sudden demise.