Exclusive! Mahesh Anand was depressed and became an alcoholic, reveals Shakti Kapoor

Mahesh Anand, a known face of mainstream Hindi films of 1990s, was found dead on February 09 at his apartment in Mumbai. Mahesh was known to play the henchman of the villains in the 90s’ films. He worked in films like Shahenshah, Majboor, Swarg, Thanedaar, Vishwatma, Khuddar, Vijeta and Kurukshetra. However, worked stopped coming his way after that. And after almost 18 years, producer Pahlaj Nihalani offered him a role in his film Rangeela Raja, which was directed by Sikander Bharti and starred Govinda in the main lead. This also marked the reunion of Anand and Nihalani, who had worked together on Aag Ka Gola and Andaz.

Sadly, Rangeela Raja turned out to be Anand’s last film. And veteran actor Shakti Kapoor, who also played a role in the film, opened up about the late actor. When we contacted Shakti to know how Mahesh Anand was during the shoot of the film, he said “Mahesh was depressed because of not having any work and he had got addicted to alcohol. He would call people up, drunk. Pahlajji offered him a small role towards the climax of the film, which he performed quite well. During the shoot of the film Pahlajji had stopped him from drinking, but he continued. I had also told him to quit alcohol because I had seen a similar case of alcoholism with Gavin (Packard – a famous onscreen henchman of yesteryears) who died few years ago.” Sadly, he didn’t stop! What do you have to say about Shakti’s surprising revelations? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section below!

Anand was found dead in his Mumbai apartment when police and his sister broke into the house.  The late actor’s house help complained about him not responding to doorbells for two consecutive days. A glass filled with alcohol was found near his body, but there was no suicide note. An accidental death report has been filed, while his body has been sent for post mortem at Cooper Hospital. We await the medical reports to know the exact cause of death. We extend our condolences to Mahesh Anand’s family.