Pradeep Sarkar (30 April 1955 – 24 March 2023) was an Indian director and screenwriter, best known for directing ''
Parineeta'' (2005).
Personal life
Sarkar was born in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, West Bengal, on 30 April 1955. He was a recipient of the Abby Award, Rapa Award, and the National Film Award. He attended
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
College of Art and graduated with a gold medal in 1979. After a 17-year stint in mainstream advertising as a creative director, he started directing advertisement films within the advertising circles of Delhi. Sarkar was married to Panchali Sarkar, and they have a son, Ronit Sarkar, known as indie musician
Rono. Sarkar died at the age of 67.
Sarkar was on dialysis when he died on 24 March 2023 at Lilavati hospital in Bandra, Mumbai.
Career
Sarkar's production house shot commercials for clients such as Tata Yellow Pages, ICICI Prudential, and Onida KY Thunder. The Aaj Tak TV commercials, shot in black and white, won both the Rapa Award and the Best Director of the Year Award at the Abby's.
Apart from commercials, Sarkar was also a prolific music video director. Shubha Mudgal's ''Ab Ke Saawan,'' Euphoria's ''Dhoom Pichak Dhoom'' and ''Maaeri,'' Sultan Khan's ''
Piya Basanti,'' and Bhupen Hazarika's ''Ganga'' are some of his popular works.
After a string of music videos, feature film songs, and over 1000
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
, Sarkar produced the critically-acclaimed ''Parineeta,'' which won the National Film Award in the Best Debut Film of a Director category.
Sarkar also won the Best Debutant Director in Screen Awards and the Hottest Young Director in Stardust Awards in 2006. Parineeta also went on to win five Filmfare Awards.
His next three feature films were ''Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,'' ''Lafangey Parindey,'' and ''Mardaani,'' all of which were produced by
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films.
History
In 19 ...
. His 2018 film, ''Eela,'' was produced by Ajay Devgn Films. Sarkar was working on his “dream project” at the time of his death. The project titled ‘Priya Interrupted’, it was to be the biopic of Priya Rajvansh. Sarkar's first movie under Yash Raj Films was ''Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'', which the New York Times dubbed as a "feminist fairy tale".
Filmography
Web series
Selected music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
1955 births
2023 deaths
Hindi-language film directors
Indian art directors
Indian male screenwriters
Bengali people
Indian advertising directors
Film directors from Kolkata
21st-century Indian people
Director whose film won the Best Debut Feature Film National Film Award
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