National Award-winning film-maker KV Anand passes away at 54 due to cardiac arrest

2020 began on a tragic note with the death of 41-year-old Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, after a helicopter crash on January 26. The world mourned the passing of the 18-time NBA All-Star, who had won five championships, and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during his two-decade-long career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant Jr was following in her father's footsteps and wanted to be in the Women's National Basketball Association.

Irrfan Khan's demise on April 29 left cinema fans - across India, Japan, US and other parts of the world - devastated. The ‘Maqbool’ and ‘The Namesake’ actor was 54 years of age at the time of his demise.

After announcing his neuroendocrine tumour diagnosis in March 2018, Khan sought treatment abroad and returned to India in February 2019. He died due to colon infection in Mumbai after a two-year-long battle.

Tributes poured in on social media for the character-actor who had established his presence internationally as well with some fine acting. Khan was known for bringing to life his roles in 'Hindi Medium', 'Life In A Metro', 'Maqbool', 'Life Of Pi', among others.

2020 started on a sad note for the Kapoors. In January, Ritu Nanda, the daughter of Raj Kapoor, and actor Rishi Kapoor's sister, passed away after battling cancer for a long time. She was 71.

Three months after her demise, 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor succumbed to cancer on April 30. The actor had been diagnosed with cancer for the first time in 2018.A year of treatment followed in New York where his wife Neetu Singh kept him company. Many friends from the film industry including the Ambanis inquired after the actor’s health when they visited the US.

Kapoor, who shot to fame with his debut film 'Bobby' opposite Dimple Kapadia, went on to star in many romantic films for three decades till the ‘90s.

June 14 marked the death of popular Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. . The 34-year-old actor was found hanging in his Bandra apartment. His unnatural death resulted in a probe which had to be constituted following a legal complaint by his father.

Before the Narcotics Control Bureau's arrest in procuring drugs for the late actor, girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty had confirmed to the police and the Central Bureau of Investigation - which was probing the case as well - that the two were planning to tie the knot in November this year.

The late actor had become a household name after his debut in Ekta Kapoor's TV show, 'Pavitra Rishta', in 2009. In 2013, he made his big screen debut with 'Kai Po Che!'. He was later seen in 'Shuddh Desi Romance', 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story', 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!', 'Drive', 'Kedarnath', and 'Chhichhore'. A month after his death, his last film 'Dil Bechara' made a digital debut on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24.

Chadwick Boseman, who kept his colon cancer diagnosis a secret from all his fans, passed away at the age of 43 on August 28. The actor was diagnosed with stage-3 colon cancer four years ago, and fought bravely till the very end.

Boseman was well-known for his powerful performance in Marvel's blockbuster movie franchise 'Black Panther' as the lead character, King T'Challa. He filmed for several films like 'Marshall', 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', among many others, during and between surgeries and chemotherapy sessions. His final film based on August Wilson's play is available on Netflix.

Coronavirus claimed two stalwarts of Indian cinema - singer SP Balasubramaniam and actor Soumitra Chatterjee both passed away after a protracted battle with Covid-19..

The famous playback singer, fondly known as SPB or Balu in the industry, died on September 25 in Chennai. He was put on life support after contracting severe Covid-19 pneumonia on August 14. The Padma awardee had recorded over 40,000 songs in 16 languages over a period of five decades.

Chatterjee, a legend in Bengali cinema, died at the age of 85 on November 15 after battling Covid-19 encephalopathy. The ‘Apur Sansar’ actor had tested corona-positive on October 5, and tested negative on October 14. The Dadasaheb Phalke winner was in the ICU for almost 40 days, and his health continued to be a matter of concern due to his co-morbidities and advanced age. With more than 200 movies to his name, he was known for being a constant in many Satyajit Ray films.

2020 was also the year when Hollywood lost a few of its legends. (From top left, clockwise) Kirk Douglas, Sean Connery, Dave Prowse and Diana Rigg were some of the stars we lost.

At 103, Douglas passed away on February 5 due to natural causes at his California home. He starred in about 90 films and TV series over 60 years. He was known for his marvellous performances of a sword-swinging gladiator in 'Spartacus', a tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in 'Lust for Life', a pugilist Midge Kelly in 'Champion', and many other characters in various films.

Connery died at 90 on October 31 in his sleep from heart failure, pneumonia and other age-related ailments. With an acting career spanning nearly five decades, the charismatic actor rose to global stardom with his memorable performance of the secret agent, James Bond, in 1962 with 'Dr. No'. He also played the lead in the 007 series - 'From Russia With Love' (1963), 'Goldfinger' (1964), 'Thunderball' (1965), 'You Only Live Twice' (1967), 'Diamonds Are Forever' (1971) and 'Never Say Never Again' (1983).

Diana Rigg, 82, known for her role of Olenna Tyrell in the 'Game of Thrones' died in September after a brief battle with lung cancer. Dave Prowse, known for his remarkable role as Darth Vader from the 'Star Wars' trilogy, passed away on November 28 after a short illness. He was 85.

Saroj Khan, who won people's hearts with her brilliant dance lessons on TV, passed away on July 2 at the age of 71 after suffering a cardiac arrest. The ace choreographer had difficulty in breathing, following which she was immediately hospitalised in Mumbai. Fondly called Masterji in Bollywood, she had choreographed over 2000 songs spanning over three-and-a-half decades. She started out in the early '70s and went on to direct dance sequences for Sridevi in 'Nagina'. Madhuri Dixit's famous dance numbers in 'Tezaab' and ‘Beta’ were also conceptualised by her..

The music world in India lost its rhythm this year with the death of Pandit Jasraj and Wajid Khan.

Legendary classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away in the US at the age of 90 on August 17 due to cardiac arrest. With a career spanning 80 years, the Padma Vibhushan awardee's oeuvre ranged from the world stage to Indian film music. Born in 1930 in Haryana, the celebrated classical singer presented the Mewati Gharana to the global music connoisseur.

Wajid Khan of the popular composer duo Sajid-Wajid died on June 1 at the age of 42. The composer died due to coronavirus complications that led to kidney issues. The sibling duo are best known for their songs in the Salman Khan-starrer 'Dabangg' films.