India woke up to the news of the demise of popular Indian filmmaker and writer, Pradeep Sarkar, who passed away at the age of 67 in the wee hours of the morning, at 3:30 am on Friday.
He had reportedly had a high fever for the last few days and was on dialysis.
Overnight, Sarkar's condition deteriorated, and he was rushed to a Mumbai hospital by his family, where he passed away.
"By the time we reached the hospital, his vitals had started dropping. He was put on a ventilator in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and was diagnosed with pneumonia. The infection attacked his lungs," the director's wife Panchali Sarkar told an Indian news agency.
"According to doctors, he had many comorbidities which weakened his immunity. His blood pressure was fluctuating. Since Covid hit him in July 2022, he has been quite weak," she added.
Several Bollywood stars including Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpayee, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, Kunal Kohli and others took to social media, to express grief, offer condolences, and pay their tribute to him for his contribution to Hindi cinema.
Bollywood star Ajay Devgn condoles the demise of Indian filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar.
© Photo : Twitter/@ajaydevgn
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan condoles the demise of Indian filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar.
© Photo : Twitter/@juniorbachchan
Bollywood producer Ashoke Pandit condoles the demise of Indian filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar.
© Photo : Twitter/@ashokepandit
Indian television producer Siddhartha Basu offer condolences on the demise of Indian filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar.
© Photo : Twitter/@babubasu
Bollywood filmmaker Hansal Mehta mourns the demise of director Pradeep Sarkar.
© Photo : Twitter/@amitmehra
A look at Pradeep Sarkar's life journey
Sarkar started his career in mainstream advertising as Creative Director - Art and after 17 years, he took a leap to the directorial journey as an ad-film maker.
He became famous as one of the most sought-after music video directors who left a lasting impression with his appealing cinematography for songs such as singer Shubha Mudgal's 'Ab Ke Saawan', Euphoria's 'Dhoom Pichak Dhoom' and 'Maaeri', Sultan Khan's "Piya Basanti" and Bhupen Hazarika's ‘Ganga’.
He switched to the Hindi film industry and started working as an editor for the movie' Munna Bhai M.B.B.S'.
He then donned the director's hat for the 'Parineeta' movie that bagged him the prestigious National Film Award as the best debutant director in 2005.
Sarkar worked with several top Bollywood stars in his feature films ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ (2007), ‘Lafangey Parindey’ (2010), ‘Mardaani’ (2014), and ‘Helicopter Eela’ (2018).