Television actor Ghanashyam Nayak, better known as 'Nattu Kaka' of the long-running Hindi sitcom Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasmah, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday, losing his battle against cancer. He was 76. The announcement was made on social media by Asit Kumar Modi, the producer of the serial, which has been on air since 2008.

Now Ghanshyam's Sarabhai VS Sarabhai co-star JD Majethia has shared fond memories with the late actor and talked about him. "Ghanshyam bhai’s passing away is not just a loss for television but also for theatre. There is a Gujarati art form called ‘Bhavai’. Lily Patel and Ghanshyam bhai used to perform curtain comedy, he would perform in front of the curtain while sets were being changed behind. He played Ranglo and Lily played Rangli, they performed while dancing and the dialogues were recited in a musical manner. He was among the senior most actors who performed this art along with Lily ben. It’s a dying art form now and he was one of the few actors who still performed. He used to live in a very small apartment back then and struggled to make his way up. Today, his son holds a high position in an international company.”

Speaking of his first meeting with the late actor, JD recalled, “I had watched his play as a child at Vile-Parle’s Bhaidas hall. From being his fan as a child, I got to share the stage with him in a play titled ‘Shirrachhed’ which also had Paresh Rawal, Sejal Shah, Harsh Chhaya and others."

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Speaking about his role as Vitthal kaka, the house help in Sarabhai…, JD recalled, “We cast him in Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai and he was the most disciplined, no nonsense actor. He never imposed his seniority on younger actors. His character became popular, so we retained him and he would add his own improvisations to make the scene funnier.”

Recalling his last conversation with the late actor Majethia said, “I spoke to him few days ago. He told me all is well and he will soon recover. Nobody expected him to go so suddenly. He suffered from a cancer relapse despite undergoing surgery and it became difficult to save him.”

(Source: MidDay)