Amitabh Bachchan's secretary Sheetal Jain dies at 77, actor remembers close aide

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's longtime secretary and film producer Sheetal Jain passed away Saturday morning. He was 77.

Jain had been working with the Bachchan family closely for over 36 years. He had also produced Bachchan and Govinda 1998 starrer "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan".

As per reports, Jain died in his sleep.

The last rites, which were performed at Pawan Hans Crematorium on Saturday evening, were attended by Bachchan, his son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Bachchan paid tributes to Jain on his blog and remembered him as "a simple man".

The actor, who helped carry the mortal remains of his close associate along with Abhishek Bachchan, said Jain was the picture of sincerity and honesty.

"He carried the burden of my work for almost 40 years... gentle, diligent, humble and the picture of sincerity and honesty... today I carried him to his last journey.

"Sheetal Jain my manager, secretary through thick and thin, passed away this morning after a short but severe battle in hospital... and flashes of his association through these 40 years, as a member of the family swept by," Bachchan wrote.

The "Badla" star said now there is a "vacuum" in his office and in their family.

Besides Bachchan, actor Anupam Kher and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar also remembered Jain.

"Saddened to know about the demise of producer Shri #SheetalJain ji. Knew him for a long time as Mr @SrBachchan's secretary. He was a very dignified and an extremely polite gentleman. May God give his family the strength to deal with this loss," Kher wrote on Twitter.

Bhandarkar tweeted, "Sad to know demise of Sheetal Jain ji. He was a very humble, soft spoken and gracious person. Film industry will miss him. My condolences to his family and friends. #OmShanti.