From the start of New Amsterdam Dr. Vijay Kapoor has been an integral part of the NBC series. Played by Anupam Kher, renowned Indian actor, the character was removed from the show off camera and we can confirm that the departure is final. The actor and the character will no longer appear in the beloved medical drama show.
New Amsterdam is a medical drama series where an idealistic director of medicine comes in to fix the oldest’s American public hospital. Influenced by current events and political and cultural climate, the series touches on hot button topics and things that are holding back the American hospital and health care system.
Lead by The Blacklist star Ryan Eggold as Max Goodwin, the show is a nice mixture of liberal politics with a palatable pace to it that almost everyone can enjoy. But one of the fan favorite character from the show, Dr. Vijay Kapoor, has resigned and he will not be returning to New Amsterdam in the near future. And there is a pretty good reason for Anupam Kher to leave the show.
Wife’s Health Cited as Dr. Vijay Kapoor Actor Anupam Kher’s Departure from New Amsterdam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOgeGWEgQbA
New Amsterdam was set to lose one of the main characters of the show in season 3. Dr. Reynolds said his goodbyes in season 2 as he was moving to San Francisco to be with his future wife. That storyline was quickly abandoned as COVID arrived as the second season was wrapping up and as one unfortunate circumstance resulted in Dr. Reynolds coming back, the same was not true for Dr. Vijay Kapoor.
Head of Neurology Dr. Vijay Kapoor and head of psychological department Iggy Frome almost had a father son relationship in New Amsterdam. While they were friends, Iggy took Kapoor as a father figure in his life and those two were always together cooking new ideas and bouncing comedic lines off one another.
But in the recent episode as Iggy was left hanging at a surprise party he planned for Dr. Kapoor, he gets irritated at his friend. Frequent calls go unanswered until the end of the episode when Ella secretly calls Iggy to mention what was going on. The doctors told Dr. Vijay Kapoor that he can never work again and despite his attempts, it was not possible.
Also Read: Surprise Cameo in New Amsterdam Season 3 Premiere!
So, instead of facing his friends, Vijay gives his resignation and just so Iggy does not blame himself, Ella decided to tell him despite Kapoor‘s wishes. That was the reason given in the show, the complication at the end of season 3 episode 1 had resulted in Kapoor leaving New Amsterdam but in real life it was actor Anupam Kher’s health which caused the Indian icon to resign.
Anupam Kher is married to fellow Indian actress Kirron Kher and it was reported by multiple outlets in India that she has been undergoing treatment for blood cancer. Kher wanted to be close to his wife and family so he decided to hang up his career for a while. The actor explained that everyone was being nice to the family and he know his wife will pull through.
“She is currently undergoing treatment and we are sure she will come out of this stronger than before. We are very blessed that she is being looked after by a phenomenal set of doctors,” the actor said in a statement. Further going on to say that his wife is on a road to recovery and he wanted to thank all the well wishers for their love and support.
While Dr. Vijay Kapoor won’t be back any time soon, it appears Dr. Reynolds is here to stay. About a month ago the showrunner of New Amsterdam said Jocko Sims was only returning to perform the surgery on Kapoor. But since Dr. Kapoor‘s departure has left a vacuum in the series, it can probably be deduced that Reynolds is going nowhere.
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Anupam Kher Dr. Vijay Kapoor NBC New Amsterdam
Last modified: April 16, 2021
