Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi passes away

By Bollywood Reporter

on September 23, 2018

Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, best known for making films such as Rudaali and Chingaari, passed away in Mumbai on September 23 after battling kidney cancer. She was diagnosed with the disease in 2017. She died at around 4:30 am at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai and will be cremated today afternoon at the Oshiwara crematorium.

On Twitter, Ms Lajmi's friends and colleagues bid her a fond farewell as Huma Qureshi, Soni Razdan and Dev Benegal wrote that they were "deeply saddened" with the news. Razdan posted a picture with Ms Lajmi and wrote that she will "miss her strong energetic voice, her indefatigable drive to create, her laughter that was always so full of real joy and her wonderful sense of humour".

Here's what celebs posted on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Soni_Razdan/status/1043685816361472000

https://twitter.com/Soni_Razdan/status/1043705074877370368

https://twitter.com/humasqureshi/status/1043680981171998720

https://twitter.com/benegal/status/1043687906349592576

https://twitter.com/TandonRaveena/status/1043718030449160192

https://twitter.com/mehtahansal/status/1043703608150118402

Ms Lajmi started her career as an assistant director with legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal. She is acclaimed for her 1993 film Rudaali, starring Dimple Kapadia in the lead role while the film also won three National Awards.

She also produced and directed films like Darmiyaan: In Between, Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence, and Chingaari apart from other women-centric films. She has worked with actresses including Tabu, Kirron Kher, Raveena Tandon and Sushmita Sen. She last directed Mithun Chakraborty, Anuj Sawhney and Sushmita in Chingaari in 2006.

Lajmi was also the business partner of Assamese singer, the late Bhupen Hazarika.