Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Bollywood director

KOLKATA, India – Bollywood filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who stood apart with his touching stories about India’s teeming middle class, has died of kidney failure.

Mukherjee (83), who started his career in 1948 as an assistant director, made over 40 Hindi films and was regarded as a trendsetting Bollywood director. Mukherjee’s films focused on the myriad emotions of ordinary Indians and mirrored his socialist values – rare in an industry known for its song-dance routines and romantic or violent dramas.”We were friends and grew up together, but when I thought about gatecrashing into Indian cinema, Hrishikesh had already done it,” said renowned Indian filmmaker Mrinal Sen.”We are all shocked today,” he added.Although he worked with a cross-section of Bollywood stars, Mukherjee is most remembered for ‘Mili’, ‘Anand’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’, which he made in the 1970s and cast Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who had then just broken into mainstream cinema.The films were super hits and became trendsetting celluloid portraits of middle-class men and women, critics said.Mukherjee made his last film in 1998 and has since been living the life of a recluse, mourning the loss of his wife, brother and his younger son.”He never spoke much about his work and kept to himself, but his movies had already revealed his persona to the world,” Sen added.Nampa-ReutersMukherjee’s films focused on the myriad emotions of ordinary Indians and mirrored his socialist values – rare in an industry known for its song-dance routines and romantic or violent dramas.”We were friends and grew up together, but when I thought about gatecrashing into Indian cinema, Hrishikesh had already done it,” said renowned Indian filmmaker Mrinal Sen.”We are all shocked today,” he added.Although he worked with a cross-section of Bollywood stars, Mukherjee is most remembered for ‘Mili’, ‘Anand’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’, which he made in the 1970s and cast Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who had then just broken into mainstream cinema.The films were super hits and became trendsetting celluloid portraits of middle-class men and women, critics said.Mukherjee made his last film in 1998 and has since been living the life of a recluse, mourning the loss of his wife, brother and his younger son.”He never spoke much about his work and kept to himself, but his movies had already revealed his persona to the world,” Sen added.Nampa-Reuters