Aruna Vasudev (1 November 1936 – 5 September 2024) was an Indian critic, author, editor, painter, and maker of documentaries who was considered an eminent scholar on Asian cinema, and was described as the "mother of Asian Cinema".

Early life and education

A younger sister of Uma Vasudeva, she was born in 1936. After marrying Sunil Kumar Roy, an Indian diplomat, she chose to retain her maiden name. His Excellency Sunil Roy died in New York from cancer in 1993, having previously served as Indian Ambassador to Poland, then Mexico, and High Commissioner to Nigeria. In the early 1960s, she attended film classes in New York where her father was working and created a number of short documentaries after her return to India. She received a doctorate from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

on cinema and censorship. Her PhD thesis was published as a book titled ''Liberty and Licence in the Indian Cinema'' in 1979.

Career

Vasudev recently served as director of Osian's-Connoisseurs of Art Private Limited. She was also one of the Trustees of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust in India. She started as a greenhorn helping in the makeup rooms of Doordarsan in 1960. She launched '' Cinemaya'' in 1988 as a publication that showcases filmmakers from Asia. In 1991, she founded the internationally renowned NETPAC as an organisation to forward the cause of Asian films. From 1990, she was the President or Jury Member of international film festivals including

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

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Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

(Camera d'Or),

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Pusan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southe ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, Fajr (

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

), and

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

Death

On 5 September 2024, it was announced that Vasudev had died at the age of 87.

Honours and awards

Honours

Appointed Cavaliere della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana in 2004, in 2019 Vasudev was honoured by the French Government as Officier des Arts et des Lettres, the highest accolades from two major film-producing countries, Italy and France.

Awards

In 1997, Vasudev won the Korean Cinema Award at the

Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from ...

. In 2006, Vasudev received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Cinemanila International Film Festival The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Sout ...

. In 2015, Vasudev was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2nd edition of the International Film Festival of Colombo for her contributions towards putting Asian cinema on the international map. At the

Hawaii International Film Festival Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

the same year, Vasudev won a Vision in Film Award. The Tripoli Film Festivalwww.tripoli-filmfestival.org
/ref> has named its prize for Best Writing on Cinema as the “Aruna Vasudev Award”.

References

External links

*
Cinemaya official website

25 years of NETPAC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasudev, Aruna 1936 births 2024 deaths Indian editors 21st-century Indian people Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres