Director Pradeep Sarkar, of Parineeta and Mardaani fame, is no more. But his legacy lives on…

Sheetal

Mardaani-director Pradeep Sarkar passed away on Friday. He was 67. Sarkar was on dialysis and his potassium levels had dropped drastically. He passed away at the hospital at 3:30 am on Friday.

Sarkar is known for films like Parineeta, Mardaani, Lafangey Parindey and Helicopter Eela. The writer-director started his career in films when he joined Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s production house.

He was the editor of Munna Bhai MBBS. Later, for Chopra’s film Parineeta Sarkar won the National Award for the Best Debut Film of a Director. He had worked in the advertising field for 17 years as a creative director before foraying into direction of ad-films. He also launched his own production house in Delhi.

Sarkar is behind some of the most successful commercials and even won the Abby Award, the top honour in the advertising field. Nimrat Kaur, who recalled her shooting days with the director, shared, “Had the great pleasure of being on his set a few times during my modelling days. His hearty laughter and relentless perfectionism will forever be etched in my heart.

Deepest condolences to his loved ones. Rest on Dada, the heavens above are a happier place. #RIPPradeepSarkar.”

Sarkar has also gifted some great music videos to the viewers such as Dhoom Pichak Dhoom and Maaeri by Euphoria’s, and Sultan Khan’s Piya Basanti.

Remembering him

Lafangey Parindey actor Neil Nitin Mukesh shared, “I’ll miss you dada. I will always remember you as that child-hearted, full of life man who taught me so much. Your creation Lafangey Parindey will always remain close to my heart. My prayers are with the family.”

The film Mardaani became quite a big hit of Sarkar’s career. Tahir Raj Bhasin, who shot to fame after playing the antagonist in Mardaani, expressed, “Woke up to the extremely sad news of the passing away of Pradeep dada. I will always remember him with eternal gratitude as the man who trusted me with Mardaani. He was a maestro, whose experience and guidance gave me the confidence to act to my fullest potential in my debut film. He mentored and then gave me space to create a part, and in this trust lay his genius.”

The actor even remembered how supportive Sarkar was on day one of the shoot. Tahir said, “It was a production heavy day, we were holding up traffic and there were 100 junior artistes on the sets. An intimidating environment for a first timer. After my first take, I waited with bated breath as he watched the monitor. After what seemed like an eternity, he yelled out for the entire set to hear, ‘that was great!’… He was a visionary par excellence, ahead of his time. He lives on in the films he created. May he rest in peace.”

Tribute in tweets

“The news of Pradeep Sarkar’s demise, dada to some of us, is still hard to digest. My deepest condolences… RIP Dada.” –Ajay Devgn, actor

“Deeply saddened to hear about the untimely demise of filmmaker #PardeepSarkar dada. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time. #OmShanti.” –Madhur Bhandarkar, director

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