The National Award-winning filmmaker was battling lung infectionSumitra Bhave passes away

Acclaimed Marathi filmmaker Sumitra Bhave passed away on Monday (April 19) in Pune. She was 78. Bhave was undergoing treatment at Sahyadri hospital for lung infection, but her Covid test was negative. Sharing details, Sunil Sukthankar, who partnered with Bhave for multiple film projects, said, “She was admitted to the hospital for the past 10 days. She was working on a project with Mohan Agashe on the happy lives of old people until January, when her health deteriorated. The infection was irreversible.”

As a writer and director, Sumitra Bhave was known for several critically acclaimed projects such as Dahavi Fa, Devrai, Vastupurush, Astu and Kaasav. Her movie Vastupurush was awarded the Best Feature Film in Marathi at the 50th National Film Awards, while Kaasav, which depicted the issue of depression among youngsters in relation to the life and nesting cycle of olive ridley sea turtles, was given the Best Feature Film award at the 64th National Film Awards. Sumitra, along with Sunil Sukthankar, was known to have changed the face of Marathi cinema over the years. For The Disciple, Sumitra had lent her voice. The film will soon be streaming on Netflix.