Legendary actor-turned-politician Naresh Kanodia passes away

The Gujarati film superstar died two days after his elder brother and former BJP MP from Patan Loksabha constituency, Mahesh, who was also a legendary Gujarati singer-musician, died following prolonged illness at his residence.

In a span of two days, we have lost both Maheshbhai and Nareshbhai Kanodia. Their contributions to the world of culture, especially popularising Gujarati songs, music and theatre will never be forgotten. They also worked hard to serve society and empower the downtrodden. pic.twitter.com/Ri4GzOO5zo

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 27, 2020

Both brothers were known as the Mahesh-Naresh duo in Gujarati film industry and together shared credit for several Gujarati hit movies.

ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મના સુપરસ્ટાર અને ભાજપા અગ્રણીશ્રી નરેશભાઈ કનોડિયાના દુઃખદ અવસાનથી શોકમગ્ન છું.આગવા અભિનય દ્વારા ગુજરાતી ચલચિત્રોને લોકપ્રિય બનાવી ગુજરાતીઓનું હ્રદય જીતનાર સદાબહાર અભિનેતાની ખોટ ગુજરાતને હંમેશા રહેશે.સામાજીક અને કલાક્ષેત્રે તેમનું અમૂલ્ય યોગદાન નવી પેઢીને પ્રેરણા આપશે pic.twitter.com/7lAiDtPYHx

— Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) October 27, 2020

Kanodia served as Karjan MLA from 2002 to 2007. His son, Hitu Kanodia, is a BJP MLA from Idar constituency.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed his condolence on the demise of Naresh Kanodia. “With his acting skills he has ruled over hearts for decades. His contribution to the Gujarati film industry will remain unforgettable.” BJP state president C R Paatil, too, offered his condolence in a tweet.