Leading Hindi director Aanand L. Rai's mother passed away on Wednesday. The Bollywood filmmaker, known for directing Dhanush in Raanjhanaa, was seen outside a crematorium in Mumbai, with pictures of him coming out of the last rites ritual now doing the rounds on social media. Pictures also show Bollywood celebrities namely actors Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi, including film producers Bhushan Kumar and Shailesh Singh arriving to pay their final respects. Akshay Kumar came forward to extend moral support to the filmmaker after his own mother had passed away earlier in the day. Akshay and Aanand are collaborating on two upcoming ventures - Atrangi Re along with Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan and, Raksha Bandhan currently in the making with Bhumi Pednekar. 

Earlier today, Akshay Kumar along with his wife Twinkle Khanna and daughter Nitara were seen at his mother Aruna Bhatia's funeral in Mumbai. They were joined by Twinkle's mother Dimple Kapadia, directors Rohit Shetty and Sajid Khan, actors Riteish Deshmukh and Karan Kapadia, including producer Ramesh Taurani, who paid their last respects. Akshay tweeted the news of his mother's demise today morning after she had been admitted to the ICU of the Hiranandani hospital in Mumbai. The actor shared the tragic news writing, "She was my core. And today I feel an unbearable pain at the very core of my existence. My maa Smt Aruna Bhatia peacefully left this world today morning and got reunited with my dad in the other world. I respect your prayers as I and my family go through this period. Om Shanti."