Parineeta, Mardaani director Pradeep Sarkar dies at 67

Pradeep Sarkar, a director best known for the movies Parineeta and Mardaani, died at the age of 67. On Friday morning, fellow filmmaker Hansal Mehta tweeted a confirmation of the news. Hansal penned, "Pradeep Sarkar. Dada. RIP." His death's cause has not yet been determined.

Pradeep Sarkar, who was born in Kolkata in 1955, started his career in the creative world at Delhi College of Art, where he received a gold medal upon graduation. Before entering the entertainment industry, he worked in the advertising industry for approximately 20 years.

Before transitioning to editing and directing in the late 1990s, first with music videos and then with films, Sarkar was a well-known commercial filmmaker. In the 1990s, he began working with a number of successful ads for well-known companies including Tata Yellow Pages, ICICI Prudential, and Onida KY Thunder, as well as the award-winning commercials for news channel Aaj Tak.

He rose to become one of the most sought-after music video directors in the business around the end of the decade. He was the creator of some of the most well-known Hindi music videos, including Ab Ke Saawan by Shubha Mudgal, Dhoom Pichak Dhoom and Maaeri by Euphoria, Piya Basanti by Sultan Khan, and Ganga by Bhupen Hazarika.

At the age of 50, Sarkar made his debut as a feature film director with 2005's critically praised Parineeta. The movie was a success and brought him numerous honours. He had previously edited the popular 2003 film Munnabhai MBBS.

Sarkar has helmed a number of other movies over the years, including Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Lafangey Parindey, and Mardaani. Helicopter Eela starring Kajol, one of the first Indian movies to focus on helicopter parenting, was his last film as a director.He also helmed a number of web series, starting with Cold Lassi Aur Chicken Masala in 2019.  Duranga by Zee5 was his last project in 2022.