Veteran theatre, television and film actor Sameer Khakhar, who is remembered for his performance as Khopdi in the television serial Nukkad, passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 15. He was 70. A family member said that Khakhar was ailing for long and succumbed to multiple organ failure at a private hospital in Mumbai. His funeral will happen later on Wednesday at the Vazira Naka Crematorium in Borivali West.

Khakhar is best known for his role of an alcoholic named Khopdi in the popular comedy show Nukkad directed by Kundan Shah and Saeed Akhtar Mirza that was telecast on Doordarshan in 1986-1987. The actor also played big and small roles in over 40 Hindi films, as well as several Gujarati plays and nearly half a dozen television serials including Naya Nukkad, and more recently a webseries titled Sunflower.