Veteran actress Navnindra Behl, who’s best known for her role in Ishqbaaaz, passed away at the age of 76. Her untimely demise was confirmed by her son, filmmaker Kanu Behl. He shared an emotional post on his Instagram handle and mourned the late actress’ demise. Ishqbaaz co-star Nakuul Mehta has now shared an emotional note for the veteran actress.While sharing the post, Kanu wrote, “My Titan. My faith. Love. Guide. Mentor. My heart. Go well, mumma. Until you birth me again.” Nakuul Mehta, who shared the screen with Navnindra, took to his Instagram handle and shared a series of pictures from the sets of Ishqbaaz.
The post read, “The beauty of long-running television shows is that they sometimes give you the opportunity to spend time with people who may have existed in worlds very different from yours until then… and then, almost magically, they end up shaping a significant part of who you were during those years. And long after the experience ends, some of what they stood for continues to find a home within you.”He further said, “We spent so many days sharing a set floor and many lunches over the three years we worked together on Ishqbaaaz. I’d often complain about the boring sabzis (read: lauki, karela) she’d bring, and she would continue to insist that we try her food. She didn’t give up. I never gave in. My earliest memory of her was filming my very first scene with her on Ishqbaaaz at around midnight in Turbhe. A solemn moment between the matriarch and her grandson. There was something about her presence that made you feel so present in every scene. She liked rehearsals. So did I. It was a match written in the stars. I say so because in television, rarely do you have the discipline and mostly the time… for multiple rehearsals.”Nakuul also shared his experience working with her and said, “She came from the rich tradition of Punjabi theatre. She wrote, directed and produced in her time, but never for once brought that heft onto set. She had more years in the business than the entire ensemble put together, but may have been the lightest co-actor to work with. Only sometimes complaining about the crazy schedules of television. Okay, often 🙂 I’d quite often drop her back home if we packed up at the same time, and those drives are some of my fondest memories of her. She’d be excited about writing back to every audience member who messaged her on Instagram (she embraced technology). She was thrilled about collaborating with Vishal Bhardwaj. She spoke so fondly of her husband and their love story, and mostly of her son, @kanubehl, and the wonderful filmmaker she believed he was.” He then said, “We kept in touch over the years, much after the show ended, and @jank_ee and I had the good fortune of celebrating her on her 75th birthday in October 2024. I doubt I ever called her Ma’am! None of us did. It was always Dadi. We will miss you, Dadi. dearmansi: She was the sweetest person ever, loved being around her and listening to her talks. shrenuparikhofficial: She did make us feel present and didn’t quite bring the age factor on set.”
