Lagaan actor Shrivallabh Vyas, who was bed-ridden for the past few years after suffering a paralytic attack in 2008, passed away at the age of 60 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on Sunday, January 7. In October 2008, Vyas had suffered a paralytic attack while shooting for a film.
In 2013, Shrivallabh Vyas, a National School Drama alumnus who played character roles in films like Lagaan, Shool and Sarfarosh, was admitted in the ICU of a Jaipur hospital where his wife and two daughters were struggling to pay his medical bills.
Due to the financial crisis, he was shifted from Jaisalmer to Jaipur for his treatment and the family were reportedly living in rented apartments.
"Only I know how we have been managing. We had to move out of Mumbai and then Jaisalmer because of financial problems," Vyas' wife Shobha was quoted as saying by TOI in 2013.
According to his wife Shobha, the Cine and TV Artists Association (CINTAA) had not supported him financially, although the association had set up a trust for the actors struggling to make both ends meet.
"CINTAA has done nothing for us. When I applied for help, Arun Bali from CINTAA offered a nominal amount of Rs 10,000. I politely declined it as it was too meagre and there was no point in being obligated to anybody for that kind of money," Shobha had said.
Actors like Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee and Aamir Khan stepped in and provided financial help for the Vyas family for his treatment.
Vyas is best known for his roles in Sarfarosh (1999), Lagaan (2001), Abhay (2001), Aan: Men at Work (2004), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005), Sankat City (2009) and Virasat (1985).
He is best remembered for his role of Ishwar, a wicket keeper in Bhuvan's (Aamir Khan) team, in Ashutosh Gowariker directorial Lagaan. The movie went on to become the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award (2002) for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).
