{"id":1775,"date":"2016-05-10T11:42:31","date_gmt":"2016-05-10T06:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1775"},"modified":"2016-05-10T11:42:31","modified_gmt":"2016-05-10T06:12:31","slug":"neeraj-vora-death-bollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1775","title":{"rendered":"The Quiet Genius of Neeraj Vora"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span>f you woke up this morning to frantically google \u201cNeeraj Vora\u201d, you\u2019re in solid company. We too wondered why a nearly unknown entity should be making the news. Then we recognised him as <\/p>that<\/span><\/i> guy from <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> movie. <\/span>\n\nNeeraj Vora was a multi-hyphenate: An actor, director, and writer, and he passed away today at 54, after being in a coma for the last one year. In his acting career, Vora appeared in some of our favourite films: Right from playing Aamir Khan\u2019s best friend in <\/span>Mann <\/span><\/i>and having us in splits with his slapstick comic timing to playing the drunk producer who tries convincing Urmila Matondkar that he gave a break to all of <\/span>Bollywood\u2019s<\/span><\/a> leading actresses in <\/span>Rangeela<\/span><\/i>. Vora\u2019s turn as the idiotic village lead Chacko, in the severely underrated <\/span>Daud<\/span><\/i>, stood out for its impeccable comic timing. Equally fun was his portrayal of a perverted music composer in <\/span>Satya<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\n\nWe\u2019ll always remember Vora the actor, but few of us know that he also excelled at writing sharp dialogue. His words were in fact behind a slew of memorable films, including <\/span>Rangeela<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Hera Pheri<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Josh<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and <\/span>Golmaal<\/span><\/i><\/a>, which has spawned four sequels to date. The multifaceted actor also wore two other hats; that of a director, responsible for giving <\/span>Akshay Kumar<\/span><\/a> a fan following with <\/span>Khiladi 420<\/span><\/i>, and composing songs. In fact, Vora has been a constant presence in Akshay Kumar\u2019s career, writing and directing a host of his films, including <\/span>Ajnabee<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Phir Hera Pheri<\/span><\/i>. For his part, Kumar has gone on record stating that Vora was responsible for his foray into comedy.<\/span>\n\n

He had been in a coma before any of us noticed his absence from the screen.<\/blockquote>\n\nAnd yet, his name barely rang a bell this morning. It\u2019s the fate of most \u201ccharacter actors\u201d. Think Vijay Raaz, before he achieved a cult familiarity with <\/span>Monsoon Wedding<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and still remained stuck on the fringes of mainstream Bollywood acceptance, save for the rare <\/span>Delhi Belly<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Delhi 6.<\/span><\/i> (Raaz, in fact, also crossed paths with Neeraj Vora when they worked together in the forgettable <\/span>Deewane Huye Pagal.<\/span><\/i>) <\/span>\n\nVora\u2019s last Bollywood appearance was in 2015, in Anees Bazmee\u2019s <\/span>Welcome Back<\/span><\/i>. He had been in a coma before any of us noticed his absence from the screen. Just like that other guy from that other movie. He might have passed on quietly, but we might remember him now with uproarious laughter… every time we watch a rerun of <\/span>Rangeela <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>Phir Hera Pheri<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neeraj Vora was a multi-hyphenate: An actor, director, and writer. We remember him as that drunk producer from Rangeela and the severely underrated Daud, but few of us knew about his significant contribution to films like Hera Pheri and Josh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[141,76,3499,3500,3501],"class_list":["post-1775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-bollywood","tag-death","tag-director","tag-hera-pheri","tag-neeraj-vohra"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Quiet Genius of Neeraj Vora<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Neeraj Vora was a multi-hyphenate: An actor, director, and writer. 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