Pune, Nov 24

Veteran Bollywood and Marathi stage, films and TV actor Vikram Gokhale passed away after a prolonged illness here late on Wednesday, hospital sources said. He was 77.

The condition of Gokhale, who was suffering from multiple illnesses and undergoing treatment at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, deteriorated this afternoon and he breathed his last a few hours later.

Son of prominent Marathi theatre and cinema actor, Chandrakhant Gokhale, some of Gokhale's leading Bollywood films were Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic film "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (1999), where he was Aishwarya Rai's music maestro father, Kamal Haasan's "Hey Ram" 2001), as Acharya Yagyaprakash Bharti in "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" (2007) and in Priyadarshan's rib-tickler "De Dana Dan" (2009) and many others.

Donning the director's hat in 2010 with Marathi film "Aaghaat", he was won the National Film Award for Best Actor category for his Marathi film "Anumati". He as also conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2011 for his Acting in Theatre.

Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale passes away