Friends of journalist and filmmaker, who passed away on Wednesday night, remember him as an “uncompromising and creative maverick”
Pritish Nandy
Journalist-turned-filmmaker Pritish Nandy passed away at 73, his son Kushan confirmed to mid-day on Wednesday night. Nandy championed unconventional stories and backed new voices of directors and writers in the Hindi film industry. One of his productions was the Sanjay Dutt-starrer, Kaante (2002), helmed by Sanjay Gupta.
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“I am not in India currently, and read the news on social media. I am completely shocked by how suddenly this has happened. I am saddened. Pritish was a great collaborator and made Kaante possible. He was the first producer who said ‘yes’ to the film in the first 10 minutes of our meeting. He said, ‘We are on, and we will make it.’ He stood by us like a rock, and saw us through it all. I am trying to process the fact that he is not with us anymore.”
Director Meghna Gulzar, who collaborated with Nandy on her second film, Just Married (2007), shares, “My everlasting impression of Pritish uncle, as I called him, was of a fiery, uncompromising, creative maverick. He wore all his hats with elan and integrity, be it that of a journalist, writer, poet, artiste or filmmaker. Apart from this, he was a doting and compassionate father, husband, animal-lover, and human being, with ramrod principles and a wicked sense of humour. His legacy is and will remain crystallised in our socio-political and cultural history, and in the hearts of those who were fortunate to know him personally.”
Reports of Nandy’s death first hit headlines after actor Anupam Kher penned an emotional note for his friend on social media. Kher wrote: “Deeply saddened and shocked to know about the demise of one of my dearest and closest friends Pritish Nandy! Amazing poet, writer, filmmaker and a brave and unique editor/journalist. He was my support system and a great source of strength in my initial days in Mumbai (sic).”
Soon after, director Milap Zaveri also took to social media to remember Nandy as the “lion among men”. “This is how I’d like to remember you—with a smile on your face and your amazing wit and wisdom. The love, support and strength that you imparted was invaluable.” Kareena Kapoor Khan, who headlined Chameli, paid a tribute to the filmmaker with a collage of pictures from the sets, where she is seen enjoying a conversation with Nandy.
Nandy, a multi-faceted personality, was a painter, poet and producer. He also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Maharashtra. He was elected as part of the then-united Shiv Sena. He authored 40 books of poetry in English and translated poems by other writers from Bengali, Urdu and Punjabi into English as well as a new version of the Isha Upanishad.
A celebrated name in the world of films, Nandy founded Pritish Nandy Communications in 1993 and was its non-executive chairman and creative mentor. One of the projects that the production backed was The Pritish Nandy Show, which aired on Doordarshan. Over his three-decade long career, he backed several critically acclaimed films like Sur, Kaante, Jhankaar Beats, Chameli, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. Recently, his company created the web series Four More Shots Please! and the anthology series Modern Love Mumbai. A multi-award recipient, Nandy was facilitated with the Padma Shri Award (1977), KarmaVeer Puraskaar (2008), and International Humanitarian Award (2012), among others.
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