Veteran actor Ramesh Bhatkar, who is known for his immense contribution to Marathi and Hindi cinema, has passed away on World Cancer Day on February 4 after his long battle with lung cancer. He was 70.

The renowned Marathi film, TV and stage actor breathed his last at Mumbai's Elizabeth hospital. He was undergoing treatment at Mumbai and Pune. The actor, who was suffering from cancer for more than one and a half years.

"He fought bravely as much as he could. But in the last one month, he was in tremendous pain and we all were worried. He was in ICU for the last fifteen days," actor Jaywant Wadkar told PTI.

Bhatkar's last rites will be held at 10.30 pm at Shivaji Park.

Bhatkar was known for his roles in the TV series "Commander" and "Hello Inspector" and worked for more than 30 years as an actor in mainstream Hindi and Marathi films such as "Aai Pahije", "Kucch To Hai" and "Bhavesh Joshi Superhero".

(Inputs from PTI)