Priyanka Chopra loses father to cancer
Priyanka Chopra's father Ashok Chopra, who was hospitalised at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital two weeks ago, passed away earlier today — Monday 10 June.
“He passed away at 12.30 p.m. today (Monday). He was undergoing cancer treatment,” hospital COO Ram Narain said to IANS.
Ashok and Priyanka Chopra at a recent event
Chopra was admitted to the hospital about 17 days ago, Ram Narain said, adding that he was undergoing cancer treatment for the past few years but this time he was critical.
Priyanka had reportedly cancelled all her shoots and was by his side for the last couple of days.
Chopra, a doctor, had retired from the Indian Army in 1997 as a lieutenant colonel.
Unsurprisingly, Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to condole the death of the retired doctor:
Bipasha Basu: Strength to you Priyanka Chopra and your family.
Anubhav Sinha: Oh no! Priyanka Chopra, may god give you strength. Lots of love. May his soul rest in peace.
Genelia D'souza: Deepest and heartfelt condolences to dear Priyanka Chopra, your mom and your fly...All the strength to you.
Neha Dhupia: So sad to hear about your loss Priyanka Chopra. Condolences to you and your family. Sending you tons of love and energy to get past this.
Prabhudheva: So sorry to hear about Priyanka Chopra's father. I hope god gives strength to her and her family to cope up with this loss. My condolences.
Kunal Kohli: RIP Dr.Chopra. Condolences to Priyanka Chopra. Had a great love for music. Met him in Vancouver last, amazing zest for life.
Sophie Choudhary: Love, prayers and strength Priyanka Chopra to you and the family. Your daddy was the sweetest man and he couldn't have asked for a more loving daughter. RIP
Aadesh Shrivastava: I am very sad to hear about your loss Priyanka Chopra. Condolences to you and your family. Love and energy to get past this.
Minissha Lamba: My heartfelt condolences to Priyanka Chopra and Madhuji. Prayers and strength to you.
Updated: Cremation
Ashok Chopra was cremated Monday evening at Oshiwara Crematorium in Mumbai.
Many celebrities - including Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra, Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Punit Malhotra, Anurag Basu, Ramesh Taurani, Arjan Bajwa - attended the cremation.
Ashok Chopra lost his battle to cancer Monday 10 June 2013
The last rites of Ashok Chopra took place between 5.30 p.m. and 6.00 p.m IST.
Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor reached Kokilaben Hospital after hearing of Ashok Chopra's demise and were with Priyanka and her family when the body was taken to her residence.
In Pictures: Dr Ashok Chopra's Cremation
Updated 11 June 2013: Celebrities attend Ashok Chopra's prayer meet
A prayer meeting was organised in Mumbai's J.W. Mariott in Juhu earlier on Tuesday 11 June 2013 for Dr Ashok Chopra, who died in a Mumbai hospital battling cancer.
Those who attended the meet from the film industry were Kareena Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Abbas-Mustan, Dia Mirza, Nikhil Adwani, Rani Mukerji, Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora Khan, Isha Koppikar, Arpita, Alka Yagnik, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Madhur Bhandarkar, Prabhudheva, Imran Khan, Uday Chopra, Rohit Shetty, Zoya Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh and many others.
We would like to extend our sincere condolences to Priyanka Chopra and her family at this difficult time.