Veteran actor Pradeep Rawat, known for memorable performances in Lagaan, Ghajini and several television shows, passed away on Tuesday after battling blood cancer. His last rites were held on Wednesday at the Goregaon BEST crematorium in Mumbai, where family, friends and members of the film industry gathered to pay their final respects.
Speaking to the media after performing the funeral rites, his son Vikramaditya Rawat shared an emotional account of his father's final days. He revealed that the family initially believed Pradeep was suffering from a minor stomach infection. However, following medical tests, doctors diagnosed him with blood cancer.
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Vikramaditya said that although his father's health reports had been normal just two months earlier, fresh blood tests showed an alarmingly high white blood cell count, while his platelet count had fallen drastically to just 3,000, far below the normal level of around 300,000.
After receiving the diagnosis, the family rushed Pradeep Rawat to Kokilaben Hospital, where doctors made every effort to save him. Recalling the heartbreaking final moments, Vikramaditya said he reached the ICU only to find doctors performing CPR on his father.
"When I opened the ICU door, I saw the doctors giving him CPR. At that moment, I understood what was happening, and my mother broke down," he said.
Pradeep Rawat's passing has left the film industry mourning the loss of a respected actor. Among those who attended his funeral were Aamir Khan, who worked with him in Lagaan and Ghajini, along with Raza Murad, Akhilendra Mishra, Ashok Pandit and Amin Haji, all of whom paid their final respects.
