 "Jolly LLB 2 actor Sitaram Panchal suffering from cancer, Bollywood extends support")
It was earlier reported how Pakeezah actor Geeta Kapoor was hospitalised following an alleged case of elder abuse by her son. Now, details of another veteran character artiste has surfaced. Sitaram Panchal, who was last seen in Subhash Kapoor’s courtroom drama Jolly LLB 2 earlier this year, is fighting lung and kidney cancer. Filmmaker Ashwini Chaudhary, General Secretary, Indian Film And Television Directors Association (IFTDA), took to Twitter to urge fellow members of the film fraternity to extend monetary support to the ailing Panchal.
Actor Sitaram Panchal sfrng from cancer nds hlp @amitbehl1 @sushant_says HDFC BANK A/C NO.-10771000013197 RTGS/NEFT IFSC:HDFC0001077 pls RT pic.twitter.com/g8LAVGuBTm
— Ashwini Chaudhary (@DhoopAshwini) July 15, 2017
The Asian Age reports that Chaudhary is also making efforts to approach the Haryana government for monetary support to Panchal. He even tagged Amit Behl and Sushant Singh of Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) in the tweet, to spread the word further.
The same report quotes Behl as saying, “Sitaram is a senior member of the fraternity and he is in the last stage of cancer. The moment this news got circulated, artistes who stay near his house went to meet him. We have circulated his bank details among various actors and help has already begun to pour in. While we are helping in individual capacity, the association will try to provide medical assistance via hospitals we have tie-ups with. We are hoping that he recuperates soon.” Hindustan Times reports that Sitaram’s wife Uma has confirmed that film fraternity members have extended help to them following the social media posts by Chaudhary and CINTAA. But she is hopeful that some big filmmaker will come to their rescue soon. The same report quotes her as saying, “Initially, he used to work and we could make ends meet. But now, he does not even have the strength to stand up. He has lost a lot of weight. Ever since the cancer was detected in January 2014, he has taken Ayurvedic treatment. It was only recently that he started a new Homeopathic medicine, following which, his condition worsened and we discontinued the medicines.” Sitaram has a son who is currently in college and seeking job simultaneously. The actor has appeared in multiple critically acclaimed films like Shekhar Kapur’s 1994 biopic Bandit Queen, Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2002 historical film The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Danny Boyle’s 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, Anusha Rizvi’s 2010 satirical comedy Peepli Live and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s 2012 sports biopic Paan Singh Tomar.
