Veteran actor Pradeep Rawat passed away at the age of 74 on Tuesday evening in Mumbai. The film industry is in mourning over the demise of Rawat, who delivered memorable performances in films like Sarfarosh, Lagaan, and Ghajini. In a career spanning over four decades, he worked in Hindi, regional cinema, and television. His last rites were performed on 5 August in Mumbai, attended by many film personalities including Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker.
Report was normal two months ago
Speaking to the media after the funeral, the actor’s son, Vikramaditya Rawat, said that the family initially thought he had a minor stomach infection. However, doctors later confirmed that he had blood cancer. Vikramaditya stated that his father’s medical report was completely normal just two months ago.
CPR given in ICU
Vikramaditya, recalling his father’s last moments, said that on 4 August, his platelet count had dropped to 3,000, whereas it should have been above 300,000. He mentioned that he was waiting outside the ICU, and inside, doctors were giving him CPR. Seeing this, he understood the gravity of the situation. He said he is sure that his father is now in a better place and would be happy to see so many people there.
Initially thought to be a stomach infection
The son said that when they went to the doctor, he diagnosed it as a stomach infection and prescribed medicines, but there was no effect. At his mother’s insistence, when a blood test was done, the white blood cell count was very high. After this, he was taken to Kokilaben Hospital, where doctors suspected a 99% chance of blood cancer. The next day, it was confirmed.
Salman Khan paid tribute
Many stars from the film industry remembered Pradeep Rawat on his demise. Salman Khan shared a photo with him on social media. He wrote that he had spent many good moments with him and wished for the peace of his soul.
Actor Pradeep Rawat’s last rites were performed on 5 August in Goregaon (West), near Best Colony in Mumbai. His son Vikramaditya performed the rituals.
Pradeep Rawat, who appeared in many films including Lagaan and Ghajini, passed away on Tuesday evening at the age of 74. Meanwhile, many celebrities, including Aamir Khan and Raza Murad arrived to attend Pradeep Rawat’s funeral. Salman Khan paid tribute to Pradeep by sharing an old photo with him.
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Pradeep’s son Vikramaditya at the funeral procession.
Pradeep Rawat’s son Vikramaditya breaks down during the funeral.
Aamir Khan attended the funeral of his co-actor Pradeep Rawat.
Raza Murad at the funeral.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Pradeep Rawat’s manager Siddharth Tiwari had stated that the actor was suffering from cancer. The disease had returned to him. 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 14 February, 2025.
Played the role of Ashwatthama in ‘Mahabharat’
Pradeep Rawat started his acting career with B.R. Chopra’s TV show Mahabharat. He appeared in the role of Ashwatthama. After this, Pradeep worked in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Bhojpuri films.
In Hindi cinema, he appeared in films like Lagaan, Sarfarosh, Ghajini, and Grand Masti. He made his debut in South Indian cinema with the Telugu film Sye and played many memorable villain roles.
In the film Ghajini, Pradeep Rawat’s character murders Aamir Khan’s character’s girlfriend.
His double role in the Tamil film Ghajini (2005) was highly appreciated. Later, he reprised the same role in the Hindi remake Ghajini. Additionally, he also acted in the Kannada film Parody, the Malayalam film China Town, the Bengali film Hero 420, and the Bhojpuri film Crack Fighter.
Aamir Khan was scolded by his sister The role of Deva in the film Lagaan was initially offered to actor Mukesh Rishi, but due to his busy schedule with several South Indian films, he did not take on the film. After this, the role went to Pradeep Rawat.
Aamir Khan was quite impressed after seeing Pradeep Rawat’s work in the film Sarfarosh. He called Pradeep’s home landline around midnight, at 12 AM. At that time, Pradeep was not home. His sister picked up the phone. Hearing ‘This is Aamir Khan speaking,’ she thought it was a prank call. She 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.
Later, Aamir made him talk to writer Umashankar Pathak, whom the family recognised. Then everyone believed that the call was indeed from Aamir Khan. Aamir called Pradeep to his office the next day, had him sign the film’s contract, and gave him a check for the signing amount. This is how he got work in the film Lagaan.
Salman did not get Ghajini because of Pradeep Rawat
During the press meet for the film Sikandar in Mumbai on 27 March, 2025, Salman was asked if he was indeed offered Ghajini before Aamir. To this, the actor said, ‘I’ve heard that too. I heard this from Pradeep. We call him Ghajini. He’s my friend. We’ve done 4-5 films together. He once said, ‘Murugadoss (Ghajini’s director) is very disciplined, so sincere, how will Salman work with him? Salman gets very angry.”
Salman further added, ‘I mean, he has done 5 films with me, and after that, he says this. Then, I haven’t met the poor guy. When I meet him, I’ll ask him when I ever got angry with him.’
Salman Khan and Pradeep Rawat have worked together in many films like Baaghi (1990), Patthar Ke Phool (1991), and Sangdil Sanam (1994).
Sonu Sood pays tribute to Pradeep Rawat
Actor Sonu Sood shared a black-and-white picture of Pradeep Rawat on his Instagram story and wrote, ‘Pradeep Rawat Bhai, you will always be missed. You will always be remembered.’
Sonu Sood’s post.
Yashpal Sharma’s post.
Pradeep Rawat had two marriages Talking about Pradeep Rawat’s personal life, he had two marriages. According to an NBT report, his first marriage did not last long, and they divorced in about five and a half months. Pradeep Rawat had stated that his first wife had made false accusations against him and his family, although the matter was later resolved.
After this, he met Kalyani Rawat, who is associated with the South film industry. The two dated each other for some time and got married in 2006. They have a son from this marriage, named Vikramaditya Rawat.
Old picture of Pradeep Rawat with his wife Kalyani Rawat.
