Bollywood celebrities share condolence posts for the late director-writer Kumar Shahani, who is best known for his movies like Maya Darpan, Tarang to Kasba, Khayal Gatha, and Char Adhyay. The social media page of the National Film Archive of India shares a young-age photo of Kumar Shahani from the set of his critically acclaimed movie Maya Darpan.
National Award Winner director Nilamadhab Panda retweeted this throwback photo with a condolence message. The director’s close actor friend Mita Vashisht confirmed his death, he was ailing as his health had been declining, took his last breath at AMRI Hospital, Dhakuriya on 24th February Night (Around 11 PM, Saturday).
Kumar Shahani, born during the British era, was born on December 7, 1940, in Larkana, Sindh, now in Pakistan. Kumar Shahani is also known as a teacher and theorist of cinema. He graduated from the University of Bombay with a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science and History, later pursuing screenplay writing and advanced direction courses at FTII.
Kumar Shahani went to France for further study in films, was awarded a French Government Scholarship, and assisted Ace French director Robert Bresson on Une Femme Douce.
The award-winning director started his career with short films. In 1972, he made Maya Darpan, for which he also wrote the screenplay. The film won the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) and the National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film. But he waited 12 years to make another feature film, for which he received funding, and then made another masterpiece Tarang in 1984.
After Maya Darpan, he won 2 more National Awards one for Tarang (1984) and the other for Bhavantarana (1991). No Big stars, no glamour, and many ingredients, Kumar Shahani was best known for his parallel cinema.
Kumar Shahani is survived by his wife and two daughters. More personal life information about him is not available, some of his interviews and photos are getting circulated on social media.