# Nirmal Pandey
**Nirmal Pandey** (10 August 1962 – 18 February 2010) was an Indian stage, film, and television actor best known for playing the dacoit (member of an armed gang of bandits in India) Vikram Mallah in [Shekhar Kapur](https://www.edgepedia.org/shekhar-kapur)'s *Bandit Queen* (1994) and for winning a Best Actress award at a French film festival for his portrayal of a transvestite in [Amol Palekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/amol-palekar)'s *Daayraa* (1996).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659241/bio/) • [2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) A graduate of the [National School of Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-school-of-drama) in Delhi, he worked in theater in London before entering Hindi cinema, and died of a heart attack in Mumbai at the age of 47.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) • [4](https://prabook.com/web/nirmal.pandey/2106209)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1962, Nainital; 18 February 2010, Mumbai, of a heart attack[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659241/bio/) |
| Signature role | Vikram Mallah, the dacoit who wins Phoolan Devi's affection, in *Bandit Queen* (1994)[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) |
| Distinctive honor | Shared the Best Actress award with Sonali Kulkarni at the Valenciennes Film Festival, France, for playing a transvestite in *Daayraa* (1996)[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) |
| Training | National School of Drama, Delhi, entered on a music fellowship; theater work in London from 1991 with director Jatinder Verma[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) |
| Television | Dajjal in the serial *Hatim*, a villain role popular with child audiences from 2003 to 2008[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) |
| Other work | Album *Jazba*; directed the play *Andhayug* (2002) with a 70-actor cast from his group Sanvedna[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) • [7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html) |
| Final film | *Lahore*, directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, released 19 March 2010, after his death[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) |
## Early life and theater
Pandey was born into what his obituarist Haresh Pandya, writing in *The Independent*, described as a humble family in the hill town of Nainital, in [Uttarakhand](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttarakhand), in 1962.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) He loved acting and music and won a music fellowship to the National School of Drama in Delhi.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) In 1991 the British High Commission selected him for a training program in England, where he staged three plays in London directed by Jatinder Verma.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) According to his FilmiBeat biography, after leaving the National School of Drama he moved to London with the theater group Tara and performed in plays including *Heer Ranjha* and *Antigone*, appearing in around 125 plays in all.[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html)
## Film career
**Breakthrough.** The director Shekhar Kapur gave Pandey his film break in *Bandit Queen* (1994), in which he played the gang leader Vikram Mallah, who saves [Phoolan Devi](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoolan-devi)'s honor, becomes her lover, and is betrayed and shot.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) • [2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) Some later accounts date his screen debut to 1996, the year of *Daayraa*, rather than to *Bandit Queen*.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/)
**The mid-1990s run.** Pandey's strongest stretch of work came in the second half of the 1990s. In [Sudhir Mishra](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudhir-mishra)'s thriller *Is Raat Ki Subaah Nahin* (1996) he played a two-timing corporate executive on the run from the Mumbai underworld; in *[Train to Pakistan](https://www.edgepedia.org/train-to-pakistan-1998-film)* (1998) he played the rustic goon Jagga; and in *[Auzaar](https://www.edgepedia.org/auzaar)* (1997) he played Baba, a vicious gangster.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) He also earned acclaim for his part in Vinay Shukla's *Godmother* (1999).[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/)
**The Best Actress award.** In Amol Palekar's *Daayraa* (1996), Pandey played a man who identifies as a woman and wears a sari, a character who falls in love with a woman recovering from a sexual assault.[8](https://www.indulgexpress.com/entertainment/cinema/2026/Jun/28/why-this-popular-90s-villain-received-a-best-actress-award-in-france) For this performance he shared the Best Actress award with the film's female lead, [Sonali Kulkarni](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonali-kulkarni), at the Valenciennes Film Festival in France; the Indian Express, IMDb, and other sources date the award to 1997, while the PTI report of his death gives 1996.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659241/bio/) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) The *Times of India* described him as apparently the only Indian actor to have won a Best Actress Award.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/nirmals-journey-to-lahore/articleshow/5599219.cms) *Daayraa* itself never received a theatrical release in India; after an A-certificate from the [Central Board of Film Certification](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-board-of-film-certification) in August 1996 and praise at international festivals, it eventually reached Indian audiences on DVD.[8](https://www.indulgexpress.com/entertainment/cinema/2026/Jun/28/why-this-popular-90s-villain-received-a-best-actress-award-in-france)
**Later work.** Pandey came to be typecast in negative roles on screen and television, and much of his potential went untapped in routine Bollywood productions such as *Hadh Kar Di Aapne* (2000).[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) On television he played the villain Dajjal in the fantasy serial *Hatim*, which made him extremely popular with children between 2003 and 2008, and he appeared in *Princess Dollie Aur Uska Magic Bag* (2005).[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) • [7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html) His last completed project was the Telugu film *Kedi*, in which he again played a villain.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms)
## Music and directing
Pandey was also a singer; the actor [Irrfan Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/irrfan-khan), his senior at the National School of Drama, called him an excellent singer.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) He released an album, *Jazba*, which did not do well commercially.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms) In 2002 he directed *Andhayug*, a Hindi play by the playwright [Dharamvir Bharati](https://www.edgepedia.org/dharamvir-bharati) that follows the 18 days after the [Mahabharata](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahabharata) war, with a cast of 70 actors drawn from Sanvedna, the theater group he founded in 1994.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) • [7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html) He also ran an acting institute, the Fresh Talent Academy, in Ghaziabad, and conducted theater workshops.[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html)
## Death
Pandey died on 18 February 2010 after a heart attack in Mumbai. According to the director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, he complained of uneasiness and was rushed to a hospital in suburban Bandra but died before reaching it.[10](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away-at-48/story-QZc3d9CfirxOTkQeS2teXJ.html) News reports gave his age inconsistently, as 46, 47, or 48; the birth date of 1962 makes him 47 at death.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/) • [4](https://prabook.com/web/nirmal.pandey/2106209) He had been due to attend a special screening of *Lahore* on 22 February 2010; the film, in which he played a soft-hearted Pakistani, was released on 19 March 2010 and proved to be his last.[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html) • [9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/nirmals-journey-to-lahore/articleshow/5599219.cms) Shekhar Kapur wrote on Twitter that Pandey was "a terrific actor and human being who had yet to achieve his full potential."[10](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away-at-48/story-QZc3d9CfirxOTkQeS2teXJ.html)
## Personal life
Pandey married Archana Sharma, principal of the City Montessori School in Lucknow, in 2005; she and her two children survived him.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html) IMDb's biography also records an earlier marriage to Kausar Munir from 1997 to 2003, ending in divorce.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659241/bio/)
## References
1. [Nirmal Pandey – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659241/bio/)
2. ["'Bandit Queen' star Nirmal Pandey dead", The Times of India, 19 February 2010](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bandit-queen-star-nirmal-pandey-dead/articleshow/5590527.cms)
3. ["Actor Nirmal Pandey dead", The Indian Express, 19 February 2010](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/actor-nirmal-pandey-dead/)
4. [Nirmal Pandey, Prabook](https://prabook.com/web/nirmal.pandey/2106209)
5. ["Nirmal Pandey: Versatile Indian stage and screen actor", The Independent, 2 June 2010](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/nirmal-pandey-versatile-indian-stage-and-screen-actor-1990005.html)
6. ["Actor Nirmal Pandey passes away", The Times of India (PTI), 18 February 2010](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away/articleshow/5589190.cms)
7. [Nirmal Pandey Biography, FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nirmal-pandey/biography.html)
8. ["Why Nirmal Pandey received a Best Actress award in France", Indulge Express](https://www.indulgexpress.com/entertainment/cinema/2026/Jun/28/why-this-popular-90s-villain-received-a-best-actress-award-in-france)
9. ["Nirmal's journey to Lahore", The Times of India, 22 February 2010](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/nirmals-journey-to-lahore/articleshow/5599219.cms)
10. ["Actor Nirmal Pandey passes away at 48", Hindustan Times, 18 February 2010](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/actor-nirmal-pandey-passes-away-at-48/story-QZc3d9CfirxOTkQeS2teXJ.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 1990s–2000s › Surnames K to P*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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