Filmmaker Kundan Shah, who directed the all-time iconic classic black satire Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and romantic coming-of-age comedy Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, died of a heart attack in Mumbai on Saturday. He was 69.
He has also directed hugely popular TV serial Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza and directed the famous Wagle ki Duniya, popular comedy sitcom, which was based on characters created by late cartoonist R K Laxman, including his famous Common Man.
He also directed episodes of TV series Ye Jo Hai Zindagi.
Born on October 19, 1947, Shah is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
“Anguished by the passing away of Shri Kundan Shah. He will be remembered for his wonderful usage of humour and satire to showcase the life & struggles of common citizens. My thoughts are with his family & admirers. May his soul rest in peace,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi
tweeted in his condolence message.
Shah, who was a strong votary of the freedom of expression and speech, would always be remembered for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, a satire on the rampant corruption in Indian politics, bureaucracy, news media and business, and stars an ensemble cast, including Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve and Neena Gupta. The film was released in 1983, and the following year he received the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director for his work.
In 1993, he directed and wrote the screenplay of the the hit movie Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Suchitra Krishnamurty. Shah’s next releases were Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000) starring Bobby Deol and Karisma Kapoor, Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) with Rekha and Preity, and Ek Se Badhkar Ek (2004), which had Suniel Shetty and Raveena Tandon in the lead roles.