Actor Narendra Jha dies of cardiac arrest

MUMBAI: Bollywood and TV actor Narendra Jha (55), who acted in mainstream films like ‘Raees’ and ‘Haider’ died of a cardiac stroke at his farm house in Wada taluka of Palghar district early on Wednesday. He was 55.
Jha, who was seen in the role of Musa Bhai in Shah Rukh Khan’s 2017 film ‘Raees’ is believed to have complained of chest pain early in the morning at his farm house at Nanegaon village.He was taken to hospital, where he passed away.
Jha is believed to have undergone a surgery and was recuperating at the farmhouse.
Bollywood paid tributes to the actor. Hrithik Roshan, who acted with Jha in ‘Kaabil’, tweeted, “ He was a dream to work with. This is absolutely shocking. Narendra Jha you will be so missed. Rest in peace my friend.”
Jha had started shooting for ‘Race 3’ last December.
Shahid Kapoor starrer ‘Haider’ director Vishal Bhardwaj tweeted, “Gosh! Tragic, shocking, Musa bhai no more.” Jha had played the role of Shahid’s father ‘Musa bhai’ in the film and was highly appreciated for his acting.
His last project was ‘Viraam’, that released in November 2017.
He had played the main antagonist in ‘Ghayal Once Again’, starring Sunny Deol.
Film critic Subhash Jha called him a brilliant and underused actor while tweeting. He wrote, “His performance as Tabu’s husband in ‘Haidar’ was a class act. A huge loss. My heart reaches out to his wife Pankaja Thakur, a friend of mine.” Thakur is former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Jha married Thakur in May 2015 in Nashik.
Jha acted in the TV industry with shows like ‘Begusarai’, ‘Hum Ne Li Hai Shapath’, ‘Captain House’, ‘Jinnah’, ‘Raavan’, ‘Chhoona Hai Aasmaan’, ‘Chehra’ and ‘Ek Ghar Banaunga’.