Asrani shot for Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan's Haiwaan days before death, Priyadarshan reveals he worked in pain | Bollywood

Asrani shot for Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan's Haiwaan days before death, Priyadarshan reveals he worked in pain

Updated on: Oct 22, 2025 11:03 AM IST

Asrani was filming Priyadarshan's Haiwaan just 5-6 days before his death. The film also stars Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan.

Just days before his sudden death, veteran actor Asrani had been shooting for Priyadarshan’s upcoming film Haiwaan. The actor-director duo worked in over a dozen films together, and Asrani’s final performance also came in Priyadarshan’s film, the director has revealed. In a new interview, Priyadarshan spoke about what Asrani’a final days on set were like.

Asrani was filming Priyadarshan's Haiwaan days before his death. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)(PTI)
Asrani was filming Priyadarshan's Haiwaan days before his death. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)(PTI)

Priyadarshan on Asrani

In an interview with News 18, Priyadarshan addressed Asrani’s death and said, “Asrani sir used to bring a lot of positivity on set. He was a great man. It’s a personal loss for me. Very rarely do you meet people whose death affects you so much.”

Asrani was filming Haiwaan, Priyadarshan’s film starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. Recalling his final days on the film’s set, the filmmaker said, “I’m blessed that I shot his last take. It happened about five-six days back. That’s why I was very shocked when I heard the news yesterday. I’ve just one small scene left with him in Haiwaan. It just has one dialogue by him. We’ll manage when we get down to filming it. All other scenes featuring him have been shot. He had a bad back pain. So, we used to give him a chair. We would remove it only when the cameras would start rolling. He had told me that he went to Indore and came back. The road was bad and he couldn’t move his legs. But he still came and finished the work.”

Asrani's acting career

After graduating from the FTII in 1966, Asrani began his acting career as a lead in Punjabi cinema, but eventually made his mark in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Hindi films in the 1970s. He established himself as a comedian in the 70s and 80s, and is best remembered for playing the eccentric jailer in Sholay. Since 2000, he appeared in a lot of films directed by Priyadarshan, including like Hera Pheri, Malamaal Weekly, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and Dhamaal.

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!.

Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!.

Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
close
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
Get App
crown-icon
Subscribe Now!
.affilate-product { padding: 12px 10px; border-radius: 4px; box-shadow: 0 0 6px 0 rgba(64, 64, 64, 0.16); background-color: #fff; margin: 0px 0px 20px; } .affilate-product #affilate-img { width: 110px; height: 110px; position: relative; margin: 0 auto 10px auto; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0.2px 0.5px #00000017; border-radius: 6px; } #affilate-img img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 50%; left: 50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); } .affilate-heading { font-size: 16px; color: #000; font-family: "Lato",sans-serif; font-weight:700; margin-bottom: 15px; } .affilate-price { font-size: 24px; color: #424242; font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight:900; } .affilate-price del { color: #757575; font-size: 14px; font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight:400; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration: line-through; } .affilate-rating .discountBadge { font-size: 12px; border-radius: 4px; font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight:400; color: #ffffff; background: #fcb72b; line-height: 15px; padding: 0px 4px; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; min-width: 63px; height: 24px; text-align: center; margin-left: 10px; } .affilate-rating .discountBadge span { font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight:900; margin-left: 5px; } .affilate-discount { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: end; margin-top: 10px } .affilate-rating { font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif; font-weight:400; color: black; display: flex; align-items: center; } #affilate-rating-box { width: 48px; height: 24px; color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: center; border-radius: 2px; background-color: #508c46; white-space: nowrap; display: inline-flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; gap: 4px; margin-right: 5px; } #affilate-rating-box img { height: 12.5px; width: auto; } #affilate-button{ display: flex; flex-direction: column; position: relative; } #affilate-button img { width: 58px; position: absolute; bottom: 42px; right: 0; } #affilate-button button { width: 101px; height: 32px; font-size: 14px; cursor: pointer; text-transform: uppercase; background: #00b1cd; text-align: center; color: #fff; border-radius: 4px; font-family: 'Lato',sans-serif; font-weight:900; padding: 0px 16px; display: inline-block; border: 0; } @media screen and (min-width:1200px) { .affilate-product #affilate-img { margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; } .affilate-product { display: flex; position: relative; } .affilate-info { width: calc(100% - 130px); min-width: calc(100% - 130px); display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: space-between; } .affilate-heading { margin-bottom: 8px; } .affilate-rating .discountBadge { position: absolute; left: 10px; top: 12px; margin: 0; } #affilate-button{ flex-direction: row; gap:20px; align-items: center; } #affilate-button img { width: 75px; position: relative; top: 4px; } }