Advani entered showbiz as a screenplay writer and wrote the script of Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa". In 2009, he made his directorial debut with "Sankat City" that starred Chunky Pandey, KK Menon and Anupam Kher.
Friends and colleagues were shocked by the sudden demise of Advani. "I'm very disturbed since I heard this news. He was an amazing director and a great guy. In fact, post 'Sankat City", he had a script that I was going to produce. This is very sad indeed," Chunky told IANS.
A shocked Anupam posted on his Twitter page: "I am shocked at the sudden demise of Pankaj Advani, director of one of my favourite films 'Sankat City'. It is so sad and unfortunate."
Advani's other friends also expressed grief at his sudden death. "A decade back, we met over a Sunday... today I came to know, you are no more... Life is a flicker... Pankaj Advani... R.I.P," actor Aashish Vidyarthi wrote on Facebook.
Advani was a bachelor in Fine Arts (Painting) from the M.S. University in Vadodara and a diploma holder in film editing from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.