Renowned theatre director, Actor and eminent columnist Urmil Kumar Thapliyal passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 78. Accordoing to his family source information,  Thapliyal was suffering from intestinal cancer and had been in and out of medical facilities for some time now. He returned home on July 17 after being discharged from the hospital, but breathed his last at his residence on Tuesday late evening. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Thapliyal worked all through his life for the revival of nautanki and popularising theatre. The acclaimed actor was associated with Darpan, the 50-year-old popular theatre group of the state capital. He also had long innings with the All India Radio. Thapliyal's death has left scores of theatre artitstes and art lovers of the state capital in mourning.

On Twitter, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath extended his condolences to Thapliyal's family. ''The demise of well-known theatre artist and litterateur Shri Urmil Kumar Thapliyal ji, who enriched the art world with his talent, is extremely sad. ''Praying to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed soul a place in his supreme abode and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this loss,'' the chief minister tweeted.

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