Istanbul attack: Tributes paid to 'kind-hearted' Bollywood producer killed in the Turkish nightclub shooting

Bollywood producer Abis Rizvi is one of two Indian victims

Bollywood producer Abis Rizvi, one of two Indians killed in the nightclub attack (Facebook)

Tributes have been paid to a “kind-hearted” Bollywood producer who was killed in the Istanbul nightclub attack.

Relatives and friends converged at the Mumbai home of Abis Rizvi, one of the two Indian victims of the New Year’s attack at the popular Reina nightclub.

They offered condolences to the bereaved family on Monday even as Mr Rizvi’s father left for Istanbul to bring back his son’s body. The body is expected to reach Mumbai on Wednesday, according to Bollywood actor and friend Raza Murad.

Mr Murad told reporters: “Those terrorists who have done this are not even human beings, they are not even Muslims, they are not even brave. Islam does not permit anybody to take anybody’s life like this.”

Mr Rizvi, a 49-year-old builder, wrote, produced and directed a Bollywood movie, Roar: The Tigers of Sunderbans, in 2014 aimed at spreading awareness about tigers.

The other Indian victim of the Istanbul attack that killed 39 people was Khushi Shah, a fashion designer from Vadodara, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Reina, owned by the Su Entertainment Group and which opened in January 2002, had become popular as a destination for celebrities. It sits on the banks of the Bosphorus.

Its website, which is currently offline, states: “Beyond the borders of the country, Reina has become an important tourist destination where, besides being an entertainment centre, foreign presidents talk about world affairs, businessmen sign deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars, world stars eat and have fun.”

Su Entertainment chairman Memet Koçarslan said in a statement posted to the group’s Facebook page: “This terrible event we are living in is a travesty and treacherous attack on humanity, nationality, peacefulness, unity, brotherhood, economy, tourism - to our whole country.

“Our police friends at the door, our tourist brothers in the house, our waitresses are all our children.

“I pray for Allah for all our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, urgent healing for the wounded, patience and fortitude for their families.”

The company paid tribute to “friends” Kenan Kutluk, Yunus Görmek, Fatih Çakmak and Hatice Karcilar, 27, the mother of a three-year-old daughter.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency said 11 of the 39 people killed were Turkish nationals, and one had dual Turkish-Belgian citizenship.

Its report said seven victims were from Saudi Arabia; three were from Lebanon and Iraq each; two nationals were from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan each. Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia each lost one citizen.

The father of one of the victims arrived from Belgium to collect the body of his 23-year-old son.

Waiting outside the Forensic Medicine Institute, Ali Akyil told Anadolu that his was a Turkish family who loved their country, and so his son, Mehmet Kerim Akyil, had gone to Istanbul for his New Year’s holiday.

Anadolu said relatives were also waiting outside to collect 38-year-old Bulent Sirvan Osman’s body and return him to Erbil, Iraq. A married father of two, Osman was in Istanbul for business.

Abdullah Ahmed Abbolos, a 32-year-old Palestinian who lived in Saudi Arabia, had come to Istanbul to celebrate the new year. An acquaintance said his body would likely be taken to Saudi Arabia.

Turkey has experienced a series of lethal attacks over the last year with the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan blaming the growing list of the country’s enemies. Isis has claimed responsibility for the latest atrocity.

Turkish forces have been involved in a major military operation in northern Syria against Isis as well as the Kurds.

Turkey’s Interior Ministry said that dozens of people have been detained in the past week over suspected ties to Isis group.

In a statement released Monday, the ministry said 147 people were detained after authorities determined “they were in contact with the Daesh terrorist organisation”.

Of those detained, 25 people have been formally put under arrest.