Actor Dinesh Phadnis, best known for playing Fredericks on the hit Sony TV show CID has passed away.
His co-star Dayanand Shetty confirmed the same to Indian Express. He said, "Dinesh breathed his last at 12.08 am." The actor was receiving treatment at Mumbai's Tunga Hospital. His last rites will be performed at Daulat Nagar Crematorium, Borivali East.
Earlier last week, there were reports that Dinesh had suffered a heart attack. Dayanand Shetty had cleared the rumours and said that Dinesh was suffering from liver damage, not heart attack. Dayanand Shetty, who played the character of Daya in CID, said, "Firstly, it wasn't a heart attack, it was liver damage, because of which he was immediately rushed to Tunga Hospital, Malad. For the last two days, he has been very critical. Today morning (Sunday) also I've learned that there's no major improvement. We're hoping he gets better soon."
He added, "Dinesh was getting treated for some other ailment but the medication affected his liver adversely. That's why it is always recommended to take medicines very carefully. You never know when the medicine that one is taking to treat something can cause another major ailment. One should be very careful regarding allopathic medicines."
Dinesh played the funny and innocent CID officer Fredericks on CID, along with Shivaji Satam and Aditya Shrivastava. Talking about how he landed the role, Dinesh had said in an interview, "I remember I was struggling for roles and wherever I went to seek work, I met B P Singh (producer of CID). I am not aware if it was sheer luck or co-incidence. Finally, he asked me if I wanted to join CID and that's how my journey began. Later I also took up Aahat."
"The show earlier had no humour at all. So I was chosen to be the comic relief. And I must say that I have received a great response from the masses." he told Telly Chakkar.