A prayer meet for actor Pradeep Rawat, known for films like Ghajini and Lagaan, was held in Mumbai on Friday evening. Several members of the film industry attended the gathering, including actors Akhilendra Mishra and Mukesh Rishi and comedian Sunil Pal. They paid their respects to the late actor and offered condolences to his family.
Tributes were paid to the late actor Pradeep Rawat at the prayer meet.
Wife and son Vikramaditya paid tribute to Pradeep Rawat with folded hands.
Son Vikramaditya expressed gratitude to everyone with folded hands.
Pradeep Rawat’s close friend Yashpal Sharma arrived at the prayer meet.
Actor Raghubir Yadav also came to pay tribute.
Aamir Haji, actor from the film ‘Lagaan’, arrived.
Actor Mukesh Rishi attended the prayer meet.
Comedian Sunil Pal arrived.
Actor Akhilendra Mishra arrived to pay tribute.
Son Vikramaditya gets emotional
Pradeep Rawat passed away on Tuesday at the age of 74. His last rites were held in Goregaon, Mumbai, on Wednesday. Several celebrities, including Aamir Khan and Raza Murad, attended his funeral.
At the prayer meet, Pradeep Rawat’s son Vikramaditya became emotional while remembering his father. He thanked everyone for their support and said he could not express his feelings in words. He added that seeing the love and support from people on social media and at the prayer meet made him feel that his father would be happy wherever he was. He also thanked everyone for sharing the family’s grief and said their support had brought him great comfort.
See funeral pictures-
Pradeep’s son Vikramaditya at the last rites.
Vikramaditya near his father’s body.
Lagaan film actors Yashpal Sharma and Amin Hajee also arrived.
Pradeep Rawat’s son Vikramaditya looked emotional during the funeral.
Aamir Khan attended the funeral of his co-actor Pradeep Rawat.
Raza Murad attended the funeral.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Pradeep Rawat’s manager Siddharth Tiwari had stated that the actor was suffering from cancer. The disease had recurred. He had been undergoing treatment in the hospital for the past one month.
Pradeep Rawat’s last Hindi film was Chhaava, which was released on February 14, 2025.
Played Ashwatthama in Mahabharata
Pradeep Rawat began his acting career with B.R. Chopra’s television show Mahabharata, where he played the role of Ashwatthama. He later worked across several film industries, including Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Bhojpuri cinema.
In Hindi films, he appeared in Lagaan, Sarfarosh, Ghajini and Grand Masti, among others. He also entered South Indian cinema with the Telugu film Sye and became known for playing memorable villainous roles.
In the film Ghajini, Pradeep Rawat’s character murders Aamir Khan’s character’s girlfriend.
Played a double role in Ghajini
Pradeep Rawat’s double role in the Tamil film Ghajini (2005) was widely appreciated. He later played the same role in the Hindi remake of Ghajini. Apart from this, he also worked in the Kannada film Parody, Malayalam film China Town, Bengali film Hero 420 and Bhojpuri film Crack Fighter.
Aamir Khan’s call was mistaken for a prank
The role of Deva in Lagaan was initially offered to Mukesh Rishi. However, he could not take it up because of his busy schedule with several South Indian films. The role was eventually given to Pradeep Rawat.
Aamir Khan was impressed by Pradeep’s performance in Sarfarosh. He called Pradeep’s home late at night, around midnight. However, Pradeep was not at home and his sister answered the phone. When Aamir introduced himself, she thought someone was playing a prank and scolded him, saying, “Why are you being mischievous?”
In the film Lagaan, Pradeep Rawat played the character of Deva Singh Sodhi, who becomes an important part of Aamir Khan’s cricket team.
Aamir’s call was confirmed
Later, Aamir made Pradeep’s family speak to writer Umashankar Pathak, whom they knew personally. This convinced them that the call was genuinely from Aamir Khan. The next day, Aamir invited Pradeep to his office, where he signed the contract for Lagaan and received the signing amount by cheque. This is how Pradeep became part of the film.
Pradeep Rawat revealed why Salman Khan did not do Ghajini
During a press meet for Sikandar in Mumbai on March 27, 2025, Salman Khan was asked whether he had been offered Ghajini before Aamir Khan. Salman said he had heard the same story from Pradeep Rawat, whom he affectionately called “Ghajini”. He said they were friends and had worked together in four to five films.
Salman recalled that Pradeep had told him Ghajini director A.R. Murugadoss was very disciplined and sincere, and joked that Salman might not be able to work with him because he gets angry easily.
Salman Khan had paid tribute to Pradeep by sharing an old photo with him.
Salman further said, ‘Meaning, he has done 5 films with me, and after that, he says this. After that, I haven’t met him since then. If I meet him, I will ask him when I got angry with him.’
Salman Khan and Pradeep Rawat have worked together in several films like Baaghi (1990), Patthar Ke Phool (1991), and Sangdil Sanam (1994).
Pradeep Rawat had two marriages
Talking about Pradeep Rawat’s personal life, he was married twice. According to an NBT report, his first marriage lasted only around five and a half months before the couple divorced. Pradeep had said that his first wife made false allegations against him and his family, although the matter was later resolved.
Later, he met Kalyani Rawat, who is associated with the South Indian film industry. The two dated for some time before getting married in 2006. They have a son, Vikramaditya Rawat, from this marriage.
Old picture with Pradeep Rawat’s wife Kalyani Rawat.
