MUMBAI: Noted journalist and author Anil Dharker died here on Friday, a former colleague said.
Dharker (74) was the founder and director of the Mumbai International Literary Festival, held in November every year and was also the founder and director of Literature Live! which holds literary evenings throughout the year in the city.
He underwent a bypass procedure at a Mumbai hospital on Thursday and died there Friday morning, the colleague said.
Over a five-decade-long illustrious career, Dharker had been a columnist and writer, an architect, a member of the advisory committee of the film censor board and more.
Dharker had been the editor of a variety of publications, starting with Debonair (a monthly), Mid-Day and Sunday Mid-Day (evening papers); The Independent, a morning broad-sheet from the Times of India group and The Illustrated Weekly of India.
He was a columnist for The Indian Express newspaper and author The Romance Of Salt, a book on Mahatma Gandhis Dandi March.
Dharker had also worked as a TV show producer and anchor, and head of a news television channel.
He was a member of the Advisory Boards of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Doordarshan, the Children`s Film Society of India and several film funds for the production of films in India.
He was also a recipient of several awards for journalism.