Actor Suhani Bhatnagar, who portrayed the young ‘Babita Phogat’ in the 2016 film Dangal, passed away in Delhi on Friday.
The 19-year-old actor had been admitted to AIIMS on February 7 and was undergoing treatment in the hospital’s medicine department. An AIIMS official confirmed that she was in the ICU and passed away on February 16.
The actor’s family held her final rites at their house in Faridabad Sector 17 on Saturday.
Her grandfather, A P Bhatnagar, mentioned that she had suffered a fracture in her feet two months ago and developed complications due to the medication. There was water retention in her body and even doctors were uncertain about what was happening. However, officials of AIIMS have not confirmed this.
Bhatnagar was a first-year journalism student at Faridabad’s Rachna Manav University and was dedicated to her studies. Despite having acting opportunities, she prioritized completing her studies first and aspired to do more films in the future, according to her grandfather.
Her father works at an MNC, and her mother is a housewife. The family is currently grieving the loss.
Bhatnagar, a native of Faridabad, started her career as a child model and later landed the role of young ‘Babita Phogat’ in the Aamir Khan starrer Dangal after a photographer approached her for the film’s audition. The film starred Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat, who trained his daughters Babita and Geeta to become international female wrestlers.