DHARWAD: Yashwant Sardeshpande, a noted filmmaker and playwright, died of a heart attack in Bengaluru on Monday, ending 40 years of illustrious career. He was 62 years old.
After he complained of sudden ill-health on Monday, he was rushed to a private hospital in Bengaluru, where he breathed his last.
Hailing from Hubballi, Sardeshpande started his career as an artist in the 1980s. He and his friends formed a company, Kala Darpana, and staged their first show, Andayuga, translated by Siddalinga Pattanshetty from the original by Dharmaveer Bharthi. The play, directed by Sardeshapnde, received a lot of appreciation.
He later shifted to Nagpur after he got a job at the South Central Cultural Zone. Influenced by Marathi plays, he translated them into Kannada and staged them in Karnataka. Most of his plays are educational, but laced with humour. His All the Best, Ye Dil Maange More, Sahi Re Sahi and others are some of the all-time favourites among his plays.
He started another company, Guru Company, in Hubballi some 20 years ago. He also recently started an institute called Adi Ranga Rangabhoomi in Hubballi, where he wished to teach all kinds of theatre practices. He holds the record for presenting over 120 shows yearly in different parts of the country and abroad. Sardeshpande was born on June 13, 1963, in Ukkali in Vijayapura and got trained at Ninasam.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and other dignitaries expressed their condolences.