MUMBAI: Sanjeev Rathod, son of late music composer Shravan Rathod, has opened up on the vacuum left by his father's untimely death to Covid. Sanjeev is Covid positive, too, and currently hospitalised, while Shravan's other son Darshan Rathod performed the late composer's last rites in the city on Friday.

"The pain is terrible. It is an irreplaceable loss to my family. It has left a vacuum. I feel helpless! I can feel the pain of his fans and film fraternity. It's a huge loss to the music industry. He was our strength and our role model. Best father, a husband, a son and a celebrated music composer, he was a true legend," Sanjeev said.

"I am at the hospital and Darshan is performing the last rites at Shivaji Park crematorium. It's an ironical situation of life and we pray for his onward journey," he added.

"We cannot personally attend calls and reach out to all. Please allow us time to recuperate from this situation and hopefully time will heal. I request everyone to please stay home. That's the only way to stay safe," Sanjeev added.

Sanjeev-Darshan had also forayed Bollywood as a composer duo in 1999, with the Aamir Khan-Manisha Koirala starrer "Mann". Over the years, they have scored songs in films like "Deewane", "Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai", "Khiladi 420", "Aashiq", "Style", "Rishety", "Grand Masti", "Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke", "Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se" and "NH 10".

Renowned composer Shravan Rathod, of the popular Nadeem-Shravan duo, died on Thursday night at a Mumbai hospital. Said to be critical after testing Covid positive, he had been hospitalised with complications.

Shravan, along with his partner Nadeem was one the most popular names of Bollywood's music scene and actively composing music for Hindi films till the early 2000s.

Celebrities from the world of cinema and music have taken to social media to express shock and grief on Shravan's death and share prayers.