India bids tearful 'Goodbye' to veteran actor Arun Bali (Watch)

Veteran actor Arun Bali, who starred in various TV shows and Bollywood blockbusters passed away on Friday morning at his residence in Mumbai. He was 79. The veteran actor's last rites were held in Mumbai today (October 8).

Antim Darshan

Arun Bali's friends from the industry actors Pankaj Dheer and Sudhir Pandey arrived to pay their last respects.

Cause of death

According to his family, Bali was suffering from Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease caused by a communication failure between nerves and muscles. He was admitted to a hospital early this year.

Tributes pour in

On Friday, fans, friends and co-stars took to social media and paid a heartfelt tribute. Neena Gupta who has worked with Arun Bali took to her Instagram account and shared a rare throwback picture. Sharing the image, Neena Gupta wrote,  "Goodbye #ArunBali My first day of shoot on the Parampara series set years ago with Arun Bali. So glad we got to shoot recently for Goodbye." Check out the post below.

Personal turmoil: Did his son abandon him?

There were reports of the actor being abandoned by his family. As per a report in Hindustan times, there were speculations that Arun Bali's son Ankush had abandoned his ill father. However, in an interaction with the publication, he refuted those rumours, stating, "I heard that I have left my father in the hospital to rot, that he doesn't have money and barely makes his meals. A YouTuber had put up a video. I wanted to bash him. There were rumours that I was taking (financial) help from someone. My father has worked his entire life and saved up so there's no such problem. Till the last breath alive in me and my father, I will keep serving him. Those who doubt me, I don't care about them."

Meanwhile, Arun Bali is survived by a son and three daughters. His son is Ankush Bali and his daughters are Itishri Bali, Pragati Bali and Stuti Bali Sachdeva.

Work front

Arun Bali was known for his role in films like 3 Idiots, Kedarnath, and Panipat. He played the part of King Porus in the 1991 period drama Chanakya, Kunwar Singh in the Doordarshan soap opera Swabhimaan and the Chief Minister of undivided Bengal, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, in the controversial and critically acclaimed 2000 film Hey Ram.

He was also part of Laal Singh Chaddha. His last film, Goodbye, featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Rashmika Mandanna, was released in theatres on Friday (October 7, 2022).