GUWAHATI: Ace Bollywood director Pradeep Sarkar died in the early hours of Friday in Mumbai.
He was 68 and had been ailing for several years.
The filmmaker was rushed to a hospital at 3 am early Friday morning after his condition got worse.
The 67-year-old will be cremated at Mumbai’s Santacruz crematorium on Friday ay 4 pm.
Sarkar turned to direction at the age of 50, after a fruitful career making advertising commercials.
Sarkar gave several hit movies, most significantly his women centric movies like Parineeta (2005) and Mardaani (2014).
Parineeta, his directorial debut drew on his Bengali heritage.
The period drama, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novella of the same name, starred Vidya Balan in her first Hindi-language feature alongside Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
Interestingly, Sarkar persuaded Rekha to appear as a nightclub dancer in the film’s chartbusting song, Kaisi Paheli.
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Earlier, he shot to fame for his music videos for Shubha Mudgal’s Ab Ke Saawan, Euphoria’s Dhoom Pichak Dhoom and Maaeri and Sultan Khan’s Piya Basanti.
He had been working on his passion project, a biopic of the legendary nineteenth-century theatre performer Noti Binodini starring Kangana Ranaut.
Sarkar also directed Lafangey Parindey (2010), starring Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh, and Helicopter Eela (2018).
He directed four web series, including Forbidden Love and Duranga.
Sarkar, born in April 1955, is a recipient of the prestigious Abby Award, Rapa Award and the National Film Award.
The celebrated filmmaker graduated from Delhi College of Art in 1979 with a gold medal.
He spent 17 years in mainstream advertising as Creative Director – Art before starting his career as a director and ad-film maker in Indian cinema.
Ajay Devgn wrote in his Twitter handle, “The news of Pradeep Sarkar’s demise, ‘Dada’ to some of us is still hard to digest. My deepest condolences (sic). My prayers are with the departed and his family. RIP Dada.”
Aligarh and Shahid director Hansal Mehta wrote, “Pradeep Sarkar. Dada. RIP.”
TV producer Siddhartha Basu, known for Kaun Banega Crorepati and India’s Got Talent, remembered Sarkar as a gentle and generous friend. Basu tweeted, “Very sad news. A visualiser par excellence and obsessive workaholic, Pradeep was an early creative collaborator, a gentle and generous friend with whom I worked on numerous projects from the mid 80s onwards. He will be missed.” Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh also extended his condolences to the bereaved family. Adarsh wrote, “Heartbreaking indeed… Pradeep Sarkar ji- director of Parineeta, Mardaani and Helicopter Eela- has passed away… Heartfelt condolences to his family… Om Shanti (sic)”