Ritesh Shah: Nishikant Kamat taught me to never run away from problems

Writer-producer Ritesh Shah’s last conversation with filmmaker-writer-actor Nishikant Kamat happened a little over a fortnight ago, shortly before he went to Hyderabad. “We last met before the lockdown happened. He was doing better than before. We spoke four days before he left for Hyderabad. He went there for some alternative treatment. He was at the best facility for liver treatment but he couldn’t make it. As his friends, we all knew he was ailing. But nothing prepares you for an eventuality, for an emotional loss like this. I was an admirer of Nishikant’s work for many years before we started working together in 2010. We worked together till his last film. Except for

Drishyam

, I wrote almost all his films in the last decade, including

Laai Bhaari

. There’s immense grief in the air for all of us. Some of our friends have travelled to Hyderabad while the rest of us are praying for him to rest in peace. It’s a loss and it does not matter how it creeps into our lives. It’s here to stay. Not just as a creative genius, I admired him as a person. But this is life - you meet people, they become a part of your life and then, you lose them.”

When asked how he will remember Nishkant, Ritesh said, “There are so many things of his that will stay with me. The one thing that tops the list is that never ever run away from problems or from things you don’t know how to handle. He always taught me to see the glass half-full. He told me not to ever run away and I won’t, ever run away from anything in my life. As his buddies, we are all in touch, we’re all praying for him to rest in peace.”