Actor-activist Vira Sathidar, most recognised for his role in the National Award-winning film ‘Court’, passed away early Tuesday due to COVID-19 related complications. The Ambedkarite cultural icon was in his early sixties and had been admitted to a hospital in his hometown Nagpur after contracting the coronavirus. According to reports, he had been put on a ventilator for the last two days and breathed his last at 3 am. 

Friends and colleagues expressed shock and grief. “I am still processing the news. It is extremely disturbing,” filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane who directed Sathidar in the 2015 release ‘Court’ told Mid-Day.com. “He was a blessing for the film and was one of the nicest people I have worked with. He was not only an actor but a very important activist and poet. It is a huge loss. He was a great human being.”