Parineeta, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag director Pradeep Sarkar passes away

Filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, known for helming films like Parineeta (2005) and Mardaani (2014), passed away on Friday. He was 67. As per reports, the director was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Lilavati hospital in Mumbai’s Bandra following a fever and passed away at the hospital.

Known for his ad films, Sarkar’s claim to fame also includes helming path-breaking music videos like Shubha Mudgal’s ‘Ab Ke Saawan’, Euphoria’s ‘Dhoom Pichak Dhoom’, ‘Maaeri’, and Bhupen Hazarika’s ‘Ganga’.

Sarkar won the National Award for Best Debut Film by a Director for Parineeta, which also marked the launch vehicle of Vidya Balan.  In an impressive 18-year-old career, Pradeep Sarkar mostly helmed women-fronted films that featured some of India’s best talents like Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Mardaani), Deepika Padukone (Lafangey Parindey), Kajol (Helicopter Eela), Jaya Bachchan and Konkona Sen Sharma (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag).

His next, Noti Binodini, was supposed to feature Kangana Ranaut. Apart from his films, Pradeep Sarkar also made a proficient mark in the OTT space with Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala (2019), Forbidden Love (2020) and Duranga (2022).

His frequent collaborators, friends, and colleagues paid their respects to the filmmaker and expressed their solidarity with his grieving family.