Bollywood is mourning the loss of film producer Ryan Ivan Stephen who spearheaded projects such as ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ and ‘Devi’, the award-winning short film that starred Kajol.
According to reports, Stephen died following complications from COVID-19.
His loss was mourned by Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan, who shared a picture of the filmmaker with the message: “RIP Ryan.”
Alia Bhatt also posted a similar message in tribute to Stephen via her Instagram Story.
Actress Kiara Advani, who starred in the film that Stephen bankrolled, wrote: “Our dearest Ryan gone too soon.”
Actor Manok Bajpayee shared filmmaker Suparn S Varma’s tweet on his Twitter handle and wrote: “Its so so shocking for all of us who knew this gentle soul. It really can’t be true!! I will miss you my friend RYAN.”
Varma had tweeted earlier: “Life is cruel! But you were kind! @ryanmstephen thank you for your compassion in a ruthless world. I’m glad we undertook a journey on a few stories, the joy in writing them was because of you. You leave behind so many who loved you. Cook up a storm my friend. God bless you.”
Stephen reportedly started his career as a write before working as a production designer on Pooja Bhatt’s ‘Rog’, which starred Irrfan Khan in the lead. He later teamed up with writer-lyricist Niranjan Iyenger to start his production house, Electric Apples Entertainment.
The deadly second wave of COVID-19 has swept through India with the death toll in the country crossing 322,000.