Bollywood mourns demise of Pradeep Sarkar

'Parineeta' and 'Mardaani' fame Pradeep Sarkar passed away at a Mumbai hospital at the age of 67 after his potassium levels dropped drastically.

Mumbai: Director Pradeep Sarkar, who is known for films like ‘Parineeta’, ‘Mardaani’, the web series ‘Duranga’ and others, passed away at a Mumbai hospital at the age of 67.

He was on dialysis and his potassium levels had dropped drastically. As his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the hospital at 3:00 a.m. on March 24, and passed away at 3.30 a.m. Funeral arrangements have been made at a crematorium in Santacruz for 4 p.m. on Friday.

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Several members of the film fraternity expressed their grief and shared condolences. Taking to Twitter, actor Ajay Devgn wrote: “The news of Pradeep Sarkar’s demise, ‘Dada’ to some of us is still hard to digest. My deepest condolences (flower bouquet). My prayers are with the departed and his family. RIP Dada.”

‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri shared a statement on Twitter. It read: “It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that Pradeep has departed for his heavenly abode. Please join us at 4 p.m. for his funeral at Santacruz Hindu Crematorium to say goodbye to him.”

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, who worked with the director in ‘Lafangey Parindey’, shared pictures with Pradeep on Twitter. He said, “DADA!!! Why??? I’ll miss you dada. Will always remember you as that child-hearted, full of life man who taught me so much. Your creation ‘Lafangey Parindey’ will always remain close to my heart. My prayers with the family.”

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who played the antagonist in Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Mardaani’, said in a statement: ‘Woke up to the extremely sad news of passing away of Pradeep Dada. I will always remember him with eternal gratitude as the man who trusted me with Mardaani. He was a maestro whose experience and guidance gave me the confidence to act to my fullest potential in my debut film. He mentored and then gave me space to create a part and in this trust lay his genius. I remember being extremely nervous on day one of shoot.”

He further mentioned: “It was a production heavy day, we were holding up traffic and there were a 100 junior artists on set. An intimidating environment for a first timer. After my first take I waited with baited breath as he watched the monitor. After what seemed like an eternity, he yelled out for the entire set to hear, “that was great!”. Just that validation from your first director still rings in my ears when I walk on to a set to this day. He was a visionary par excllence, ahead of his time. He lives on in the films he created. May he rest in peace.”

‘The Lunchbox’ actress Nimrat Kaur also shared a picture of Pradeep and tweeted: “Had the great pleasure of being on his set a few times in my modeling days. His hearty laughter and relentless perfectionism will forever be etched in my heart. Deepest condolences to his loved ones. Rest on Dada, the heavens above are a happier place. #RIPPradeepSarkar.”