Producer Ryan Stephen, who was the co-founder of production house Electric Apples Entertainment, died of COVID-19 in Goa on Saturday, a source close to the producer told news agency PTI. Kiara Advani, Dia Mirza and Varun Dhawan among other celebs mourned the producer on social media. Kiara Advani, who worked with Ryan Stephen on her last film Indoo Ki Jawani, shared a photo of him on her Instagram profile and wrote: "Our dearest Ryan gone too soon." Dia Mirza remembered Ryan Stephan with these words: "Heartbroken. One of the nicest human beings I've ever known" and a broken heart icon. Ryan Stephen was working in showbiz for over 2 decades. He had also produced Kajol, Neha Dhupia and Shruti Haasan's short film Devi.
Screenshot of Kiara's Instagram story.
Varun Dhawan, sharing a picture of the producer, wrote: "RIP Ryan."
Screenshot of Varun Dhawan's Instagram story.
"Life is cruel! But you were kind! Ryan, 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," tweeted director Suparn Verma.
Ryan Stephen started his career in the entertainment industry as a club reporter with a film magazine. Over years, he worked with publications such as Showtime and Stardust and even as a film consultant on web-portal Mazaa Media.
He also collaborated with TV channels such as MTV, Zoom, Zee and 9XM for various work and for a brief period, worked as a PR representative for movies like Jism, Paap, Rog and LOC.