Bollywood's multi-faceted talent Neeraj Vora, an actor, writer, and director known for his humorous and happy streak on and off the screen died here early on Thursday, months after being comatose. Ram Gopal Varma, Aamir Khan, and Priyadarshan talked about Neeraj Vora's untimely demise.
Aamir Khan remembered the writer-director-actor as someone who carried laughter with him. Aamir played the lead role in ‘Rangeela’, which was written by Vora, who passed away today after being in a coma for over a year. He was 54.
Aamir Khan said it was very difficult to believe that Neeraj Vora is no more, "Neeraj was a close friend, a collaborator, a vibrant force of life. His tragic illness and then demise is a loss not only to those close to him but also to the creative world. His sense of humour will be missed sorely. Laughter travelled with him. Even as I am writing this, I cannot believe that he is not with us anymore. Thank you, Neeraj for all the joy you brought to my life. I will miss you. My heartfelt condolences all in his family.’
Ram Gopal Varma said Neeraj used to make anyone laugh, “Neeraj is the only guy I knew who could make anyone laugh, no matter what mood one was in. He was also highly intelligent. During the shoot of a particular scene from 'Daud' [1997], we had to do multiple takes because the crew couldn't control their laughter over Neeraj's antics. Hey Neeraj, now that you have gone up there, just keep the gods laughing.”
Filmmaker Priyadarshan told recalls a memory of Neeraj Vora, “After I met Neeraj on the set of 'Virasat' [1997], we decided to team up as director and writer. He never penned double meaning dialogues. Neeraj wrote only during the day, I'd wonder where he'd disappear at nights. One day, I found him gambling at a casino. He told me he believed in only one thing in life - luck.”
