The Last Bow

According to sources,Thakur suffered a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday night,after he slipped in his room. The 65-year-old artiste is survived by his actor-wife Prita Mathur.

With a career in theatre,films and television spanning over 40 years,Thakur is perhaps best remembered for his contribution to the rise of Hindi theatre in Mumbai at a time when Gujarati and Marathi theatre ruled the roost,and the Hindi-speaking population looked towards films. “There was very little of Hindi theatre at that time,with only Marathi and Gujarati plays considered popular; Dinesh could’ve taken the experimental route in Hindi,but he was determined to direct popular Hindi plays,” says Gulzar.

His Ank theatre group,founded in 1976,is considered to be one of the seminal voices in the new wave Hindi theatre of that time. Its most popular production is Jis

Lahore Nahi Dekhiya,a play that explores the impact of the Partition on human relationships. Ank continued to be active in Mumbai’s Hindi theatre circuit till recent times. Thakur directed and acted in plays in spite of his poor health in the last couple of years. “He hasn’t been keeping well for three to four years now,but he never stopped doing theatre. Nearly a month back,he directed Ravindranjali,a musical based on Rabindranath Tagore’s poems,almost from his sick bed,” says theatre artist Atul Tiwari,also Thakur’s close friend. Thakur was born and educated in Delhi.

Unike many of his peers who gravitated towards films after starting with theatre,Thakur,despite successful stints in acting and screenwriting in Bollywood,never left theatre. “His mission was to stick to theatre and make it big there. He sacrificed a promising film career for his single-minded persistence in theatre,” says Gulzar,whose 1971 film Mere Apne gave Thakur his first break in Hindi films. Thakur acted in nearly 20 films,including Anubhav and The Burning Train. He wrote the story and screenplay for Ghar. His last noticeable appearance was in the 2001film Fiza and the popular mega serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.