Renowned filmmaker Kumar Shahani dies at 83

FILE: Filmmaker Kumar Shahani delivering a lecture on ‘Indian cinema: continuing traditions of arts and aesthetics’ at a programme organised jointly by the Central for Cultural Studies, University of Kerala, and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in Thiruvananthapuram in 2013
| Photo Credit: MAHINSHA S/The Hindu

Filmmaker Kumar Shahani, a significant name in the Indian parallel cinema who directed films such as Maya Darpan, Char Adhyay and Kasba, has died at the age of 83.

The director passed away last night at a hopsital in Kolkata, close friend and actor Mita Vashisht said.

“He passed away around 11 pm last night due to age-related health issues at a hospital in Kolkata. He was ailing and his health had been declining. It’s a deep personal loss,” Vashisht, who worked with the director on Vaar Vaar Vaari, Khayal Gatha, and Kasba, told PTI.

“We were in touch with his family. Kumar and I would talk a lot and I knew he was ailing and was in and out of hospital,” the actor added.

Shahani is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The filmmaker was born in Larkana, Sindh in the undivided India. After the partition in 1947, Shahani’s family shifted to Bombay.

FILE: The Making of An Information Society: The new Information Society with profound implications for the way people will work and live is fast impinging on us. India can no longer afford to ignore the rapid developments in the field of information and communications technology, argue the panellists. Photo shows one of panellists Mr. Kumar Shahani. (Photo taken December 06, 1980)
PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
| Photo Credit:
V_RAMAMURTHI

Shahani studied at the Film and Television Institute of India with Mani Kaul, who also went on to become famous for his work in art house cinema.

Shahani debuted with Maya Darpan in 1972. The film, based on Hindi writer Nirmal Varma’s short story, revolved around a woman divided between her lover and protecting the honour of her father in feudal India.

He followed it up with Tarang in 1984. Starring Amol Palekar and Smita Patil, the film received a national film award. The story revolved around an amoral businessman, who gets involved with a trade union leader’s wife.

In Khayal Gatha, Shahani traced the relationship of the Khayal genre with Indian classical dance and featured Rajat Kapoor and Mita Vashisht.

Kumar Shahani (right) with K.K. Mahajan shooting “Kasba”.

Kasba, his other feature, is about a dishonest businessman’s adopted daughter, played by Vashisht, taking action when his eldest son, essayed by Shatrughan Sinha, is arrested for counterfeiting.

Vashisht hailed Shahani for his pivotal role in the parallel cinema movement in India. “I admired him as a human being and as a filmmaker. He was one of the greatest directors in our country. His integrity and consciousness towards society, art, cinema, was unparallel. His films were inspiring,” the actor said.