Bollywood music composer Shravan Rathod, of Nadeem-Shravan fame, dies of Covid-19 at 66

The musician and his wife were at the Kumbh Mela earlier in April and both tested positive for coronavirus upon their return, says his son

Bollywood music director/composer Shravan Rathod (L) and writer/lyricist Yogesh Gaur pose for a photograph during the Ravindra Jain Academy Awards ceremony in Mumbai in 2016. AFP

Bollywood music composer Shravan Rathod, one half of the famed Nadeem-Shravan duo, has died of Covid-19 at the age of 66.

The musician, best known for his work in Bollywood films in the nineties, had just returned from the Kumbh Mela with his wife before they both tested positive for the coronavirus, his son Sanjeev Rathod told The Indian Express.

Rathod was admitted to Mumbai's SL Raheja Hospital on Monday in a critical condition and died on Thursday night, according to Indian news agency PTI.

The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious festival held in the North Indian city of Haridwar this year, attracted millions of devotees earlier in April, sparking outrage as the country reels from a second wave of coronavirus.

"We had never thought our family would have to go through such tough times, my father passed away, I am Covid positive and so is my mother. My brother is also positive and is in home isolation, but since our father has died, he is being allowed to do the final procedures to do last rites for our father," Sanjeev, also a music composer, told The Indian Express.

Shravan Rathod's musical partner Nadeem Saifi, left, posted this photo on Facebook on Thursday. Facebook / Nadeem Saifi

Shravan Rathod’s musical partner Nadeem, who had earlier urged fans to pray for Rathod’s recovery, said it was “a very sad day for music”.

“I have lost my younger brother today,” Saifi posted on Facebook.

Known popularly as Nadeem-Shravan, the duo composed the music for some of the biggest Bollywood movies in the nineties including Aashiqui (1990), Saajan (1991), Dilwale (1994), Raja Hindustani (1996) and Pardes (1997).

The pair split in 2005 amid rumours of a conflict and both musicians continued their work independently. They reunited in 2009 for the David Dhawan film Do Knot Disturb. Rathod has since gone on to promote his sons as the music duo Sanjeev-Darshan.

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman posted a tribute on Twitter on Thursday.

"Our music community and your fans will miss you immensely," he said.

Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, who starred in many of the films Nadeem-Shravan worked on, added: "Shravan (and Nadeem) walked 30 years alongside me in my career with the evergreen album for Phool Aur Kaante."

India on Friday posted the world’s biggest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus infections for the second consecutive day, with almost 332,730 new daily cases.

The UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced Thursday it was suspending flights from India starting Saturday.

While the ruling did not include transit flights coming into the UAE and bound for India, UAE citizens, diplomatic missions between the two countries, official delegations, business flights and golden residency holders are excluded from this decision.

"Those coming from India through other countries are required to have a period of stay in those countries of not less than 14 days in order to be allowed to enter the country, starting from 23:59pm on Saturday, April 24, for a period of 10 days, which can be extended with the continuation of cargo flights between the two countries," NCEMA said on Twitter.

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