Famed Hindi film director Kundan Shah passed away at his Mumbai residence on Friday night, after suffering a heart attack. He was 69.
Shah was best known for directing the 1983 satirical film, ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ – his first – for which he received the National Award.
The film, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve and Neena Gupta, received a poor response at the box office, but went on to achieve cult status.
He also co-directed popular Hindi TV show ‘Nukkad,’ which aired on Doordarshan from 1986 to 1987, and directed comedy sitcom ‘Wagle Ki Duniya,’ based on characters created by RK Laxman. The latter ran from 1988 to 1990.
Shah had studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Several Bollywood personalities condoled Shah’s death on Twitter.
Good bye #kundan shah. We all @FTIIOfficial @Whistling_Woods shall remember u for your great films with us n in history indian cinema.??????
— Subhash Ghai (@SubhashGhai1) October 7, 2017
RIP Kundan Shah…. a cult filmmaker …a solid story teller…..
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) October 7, 2017
A brave man Kundan Shah, who added vigour to the alternate cinema stream with movies like Jaane bhi do yaaro has left us. Adieux Kundan ???
— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) October 7, 2017
Rip Kundan Shah…. A master storyteller no more. Condolences to the family and loved ones.
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) October 7, 2017