A Year of Farewells: Legendary Actors and Singers Who Died in 2025

The Indian film and music world lost many actors and singers from Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar to Zubeen Garg and Sulakshana Pandit in 2025. In Odisha too, two top film personalities, actor Uttam Mohanty and singer Humane Sagar passed away this year. Here’s a look at 10 of those artistes who have left a void in the cine world.

Uttam Mohanty: Legendary actor Uttam Mohanty, who passed away on 27 February at the age of 66, is considered one of the top stars of the Odia film industry. Mohanty, who started his career in 1977, starred in more than 135 Odia movies. Besides Odia, he acted in around 30 Bengali and one Hindi movies. During his career, he was honoured with several awards including Jaydev Puraskar, the highest film award in Odisha.

Manoj Kumar: Veteran actor Manoj Kumar, known for patriotic movies, died on 4 April at the age of 87 in Mumbai following a prolonged illness. Kumar, who started his career in 1957, was also known as ‘Bharat’ as it was his name in many films. Besides being a fine actor, he was also a great writer and director. He wrote, directed and starred in several iconic movies like Upkar, Purab Paschim, Roti Kapada Aur Makan and Kranti. Kumar was given the Padma Shri in 1992, Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015 for his contribution to Indian films.

Mukul Dev: Actor Mukul Dev died quite young on 23 May at the age of 54. Dev made his acting debut in 1995 in the television serial A Mouthful of Sky. A year later, he starred as a leading man opposite debutant Miss Universe Sushmita Sen in the Mahesh Bhatt directed movie Dastak. Subsequently, he appeared in several Hindi movies including Qila, Wajood and Kohram. He later did several character roles in Son of Sardaar, R…Rajkumar and Jai Ho. He also acted in several television shows and regional films, mostly Punjabi.

Zubeen Garg: Iconic Assamese singer and musician Zubeen Garg died at the age of 52 on 19 September in Singapore, where he had gone to perform at the North East India Festival. The mysterious circumstances leading to his death triggered public outcry prompting the Assam government to form a SIT, which has arrested several people for murder. Garg had achieved at a very young age what many would take a lifetime to achieve. He lent his voice to thousands of Assamese, Bengali and Hindi songs. He was so loved by people of Assam that lakhs turned up at his funeral in Gauhati. The state government also declared a three-day official mourning in his respect.

Pankaj Dheer: Actor Pankaj Dheer, who immortalized the role of Karna in television serial Mahabharat, died on 15 October, 2025 at the age of 68, after battling with cancer for a long time. Besides Mahabharat, Dheer also acted in popular television shows like Chandrakanta, Badho Bahu, Kanoon, and Sasural Simar Ka. His notable films roles include Sanam Bewafa, Sadak, Soldier, Badshah, Andaz, Baadshah, and Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge. His son Nikitin Dheer is also an actor, famous for his roles in Chennai Express, Jodhaa Akbar, Dabangg 2 and Sooryavanshi.

Asrani: Veteran actor Gobardhan Asrani, known simply as Asrani professionally, died at the age of 84 on 20 October after a prolonged illness. During his long career of over five decades, Asrani has acted in hundreds of Hindi and Gujarati films, mostly in comic roles. His most popular comic role was as a jailer in the blockbuster Sholay. But he also excelled in serious roles in films made by directors like Hrishikesh Mukherji and Basu Chatterji.

Satish Shah: Satish Shah, who has acted in films and television shows with equal aplomb, died on 25 October due to a heart attack. The 74-year-old Shah was known for delivering memorable performances in Hum Saath Saath Hain, Main Hoon Na and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and television show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.

Sulakshana Pandit: Sulakshana Pandit, a well known actor of Indian screen as well as a playback singer, died on 6 November at the age of 71. The daughter of classical vocalist Pratap Narain Pandit, she is the eldest sister of music composer duo Jatin-Lalit and former actor Vijayta Pandit. Sulakshana debuted as a playback singer in the 1967 film Taqdeer when she was just 9-year-old. She made her acting debut in 1975 with Uljhan with Sanjeev Kumar as the hero. Besides Sanjeev Kumar, she was also paired with top heros like Jitendra, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha.

Humane Sagar: Humane Sagar, a popular singer of Odia films and television shows, died on 17 November due to multi-organ failure at a very early age of 34. Sagar came from a musical background as his parents were singers. In 2012, he participated in a reality television musical show “Voice of Odisha” on Tarang TV and emerged victorious. Within no time, he became one of the most sought after singers of the Odia films and television serials. He has rendered his voice to thousands of songs for films, television and albums.

Dharmendra: Dharmendra, one of the biggest stars of Indian films, died in Mumbai on 24 November, just a few days before his 90th birthday. Known as the “He-Man” of the film industry, he acted in over 300 films in a career that spanned more than six decades. With a filmography that included Sholay, Phul Aur Pattar, Chupke Chupke, Satyakam, Mera Gaon Mera Desh and Pratiggya, Dharmendra was considered one of the most dependable sustainable stars of India. Ikkis, a war movie starring Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda will be the last film of Dharmendra as well as Asrani. It will release on 1 January 2026.