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Filmmaker Kumar Shahani, director of highly-acclaimed arthouse movies such as Maya Darpan (1972), Tarang (1984), Khayal Gatha (1989) and Kasba (1990), passed away at the age of 83 in a Kolkata hospital. He is survived by his wife and daughters Uttara and Rewati.
Shahani, who was born on December 7, 1940, in Pakistan’s Sindh, shifted to Mumbai after Partition. After graduating from the University of Bombay, he went on to study screenwriting and direction at the Film and Television of India (FTII), Pune, where he came in contact with filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. While Ghatak was a major influence on him, Shahani was also inspired by French writer-director Robert Bresson, whom he assisted when he went to study in France after getting a government scholarship. His debut film, made after returning from France, was Maya Darpan, a screen adaptation of Nirmal Verma’s story.
Expressing her love and respect for the departed filmmaker, Mira Nair described Shahani as “a great artist of cinema”. Shahani, who made several acclaimed documentaries, which were appreciated for their artistic richness, as well as features, was known for his austerity and aesthetics. Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty called him a “visionary” and “someone who shaped us all with his immaculate vision of cinema and visual design”. Shahani has made several short films like Rails for the World (1970), Fire in the Belly (1973), Our Universe (1976) and Var Var Vari (1987).
Film director-actor Arun Khopkar, a graduate in film direction from FTII in 1974, in his social media post wrote: “In such times as ours, few would realise what a loss it is (Shahani’s demise) to our national and international cinema. I hope that his numerous students remember him, his love and the time that he gave them ungrudgingly.”
After watching Bhavantarana, a documentary film about Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra that received the National Film Award for Best Biographical Film, Italian Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi was impressed by Shahani’s understanding of the art and craft of dance. Calling him “a charismatic filmmaker”, Citaristi says, “I loved how he made Bhavantarana. When we started shooting the documentary Priye Charu Sheele, I was both its subject as well as creative producer.” Though as producer-director they had their differences, Citaristi appreciates his keen sense of dance and movement. “His script was short but read almost like poetry. He used a lot of symbols. Just like poetry, his non-linear structure is at times difficult to understand, but it is beautiful,” Citaristi told The Indian Express and adds that Priye Charu Shile, which is probably his last work, will come out soon.
Highlighting Shahani’s contribution to Indian cinema, Joram director Devashish Makhija, who revisited his movies recently, wrote on social media: “In some way or the other, to some measure, each artistically inclined Indian filmmaker carries his legacy.”
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