Rudaali' Director Kalpana Lajmi Dies of Cancer

Rudaali’ director Kalpana Lajmi dies of cancer; Indian President Ram nath Kovind, Assam CM mourn loss.
Renowned and critically acclaimed director Kalpana Lajmi passed away on Sunday morning after a long battle with kidney cancer. She breathed her last around 4:30 am at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai.
Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi passed away on Sunday morning around 4:30 am at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai. Kalpana, who was 64, had been fighting a long battle with chronic kidney cancer. Kalpana breathed her last around 4:30 am on Sunday at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai. She was on dialysis.
She has been in and out of the hospital for three years. The last rites will be possibly conducted today,” her brother Dev Lajmi told Press Trust of India.
Daughter of painter Lalita Lajmi and niece of filmmaker Guru Dutt, Kalpana had made her debut as an assistant director under the renowned director Shyam Benegal. She had made her directorial debut with the documentary film DG Movie Pioneer.
Kalpana Lajmi was known for directing path-breaking and female-oriented movies like Rudaali, Darmiyaan: In Between and Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence. Rudaali was in fact selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. However, it was unable to make the final cut. The niece of Guru Dutt had made her directorial debut with the documentary film DG Movie Pioneer.
Celebrities pay tribute to director, producer and screenwriter Kalpana Lajmi. Bollywood actor Pakistan born Huma Qureshi shared the news of Kalpana’s demise on Twitter. She wrote, “Deeply saddened… at around 4:30 am today morning #KalpanaLajmi passed away .. May she rest in peace.”
Actor and Director Nandita Das told to the media: “ Deeply saddened by the news of Kalpana Lajmi leaving us. I had promised to meet her in the coming week, after the Manto release. No greater pain than losing one’s child, so my deepest condolences to Lalitaji”.
“Extremely saddened by the news of Kalpana Lajmi’s demise. She was a lovely person full of life & humour. Will miss her. May she rest in peace.” Singer Adnan Sami said.
“Sad a very sad news.may her soul rest in peace..” Very famous Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee shared his feelings.
“Saddened by the passing away of acclaimed filmmaker, producer & screenwriter Kalpana Lajmi, who stood for breaking new ground in Indian cinema with films like ‘Rudaali’. My condolences to her family and admirers.” West Bengal Cm Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Since Ms Lajmi was detected with cancer and liver disease several artists in the film world including Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Soni Razdan and Neena Gupta helped her out financially.
Ms Lajmi’s Rudaali, was the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards. The film however, was not accepted as a nominee.
Known for making fiery films with women at the core of her stories, her filmography boasts of movies like “Ek Pal”, “Rudaali”, “Daman”, “Darmiyaan” and “Chingaari”(2006), her last directorial.
Kalpana Lajmi was known for directing acclaimed movies like Rudaali, Darmiyaan: In Between and Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence. Her films were said to be a reflection of the times and she was often hailed as one of the forerunners of parallel cinema. Kalpana’s last directorial was the 2006 Chingari which had featured Mithun Chakraborty , Sushmita Sen and Anuj Sawhney in pivotal roles.
Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi’s last rites will take place at Mumbai’s Oshiwara Crematorium at 1 pm.
> Pratyusha Mukherjee