New Delhi: Cinema legend Dev Anand’s son, actor Suneil Anand, died on Tuesday in the UK. He was 70.
The news of his death was announced by his niece, Gina Narang, in a statement.
“With heavy hearts, our family mourns the passing of Suneil Anand. We are comforted by the outpouring of love, prayers, and support, for which we are truly grateful. We kindly request privacy as we navigate this difficult time together,” the statement read.
Several media outlets reported that Suneil Anand suffered a heart attack in London while en route to India from the US, with a stopover in the UK. According to NDTV, he was hospitalised following the attack, but suffered another heart attack before doctors could carry out a stent procedure.
Despite the medical team’s efforts, he passed away. In a coincidence, he reportedly died at the same London hospital where his father, Dev Anand, passed away in 2011.
Also read: Veteran Telugu actor Pavala Shyamala dies weeks after rescue from Hyderabad streets
Career
Suneil, who started his journey by assisting his father on films in the late 1970s and 1980s, made his acting debut in Anand Aur Anand (1984).
Dev Anand directed the film and also starred in it alongside Raakhee and Smita Patel. Suneil played a supporting role. Unfortunately, the film tanked at the box office. Suneil Anand’s second chance came in Sameer Malkan’s 1986 film Car Thief, in which he played the lead role opposite Vijayta Pandit. Backed by Dev Anand’s production house Navketan Films, the film also starred Rajendra Kumar and Asha Parekh. However, the box office remained unimpressed with him.
Later in 2001, he made a comeback, but this time in his own directorial venture — Master. It was his directorial debut, where he shared the screen space with Leher Kala, and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. Suneil Anand even trained extensively in Wing Chun, a traditional South Chinese Kung Fu style, in Hong Kong for the film.
After his father’s death in 2011, Suneil Anand took over the reins of Navketan Films. The final film produced and released by the banner was Chargesheet in September 2011, under Dev Anand’s watch. The studio, founded in 1949, did not mount any subsequent theatrical film project after the actor’s demise.
As far as Suneil Anand’s personal life is concerned, there is no record of him getting married.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)