Pune film institute alumni remember driver-turned-location guide on his passing

An ex-serviceman who joined the FTII in the 1980s, Pratap D Shegde had friendship with film personalities such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Resul Pookutty, Raj Kumar Hirani and Sriram Raghvan. He died on Wednesday night.

Shedge had endeared himself to many generations of the students with his friendly manner, helpful nature and knowledge of the state’s terrain and culture. (Source: Facebook/Resul Pookutty)

The death of Pratap D Shedge, who was a driver at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has led to an outpouring of condolence messages and memories on social media with alumni of the premier institute sharing anecdotes about his warm and loving nature.

Shedge, an ex-serviceman, had served at the FTII for over four decades. He joined as a driver in the 1980s but slowly became an informal “location guide” for the students. He died on Wednesday night following chronic respiratory issues and was cremated on Thursday morning. He was 74.

Among those who posted grief messages was Resul Pookutty, the Academy Award-winning sound designer.

He became popular among students because of his knowledge of the region that came handy for location-hunting for student projects. (Express Photo)

“One of many men who were instrumental in our learning at FTII. It is the kindness and ever-loving nature of his kind of tribe [that] is the real reason for all our success. Shedge Ji, we will miss you, men like you are rare…,” Pookutty wrote on Facebook.

Shedge had endeared himself to many generations of the students with his friendly manner, helpful nature and knowledge of the state’s terrain and culture. It was Shedge who would often drop off FTII graduates who had recently finished their studies and wanted to shift to Mumbai to start their career in the film industry. He remained in touch with most of them.

He became popular among students because of his knowledge of the region that came handy for location-hunting for student projects. As per demands of the scene, he would take students to the serene forests of the Western Ghats or rugged terrains in the plains. Spending time on film shoots, he had developed an intuitive understanding about shoot locations.

“That was the reason that even after he retired in 2009, students had pressed the institute to employ him contractually to help them hunt for locations. He was loved by students dearly and had friendship with film personalities such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Resul Pookutty, Raj Kumar Hirani and Sriram Raghvan,” said Sachin Shedge, his son.

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Himanshu Prajapati, a film direction alumnus, said that by the time he had joined the institute Shedge had already retired but continued to help the students as a “location guide” using his own van.

“As he aged he had started to forget things. But he was very fond of sharing memories that he had accumulated by participating in hundreds of film shoots. He had a great attachment to the institute and all things FTII,” said Prajapati.

He is survived by wife, two daughters and a son.

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