MUMBAI, June 4 - Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, known for his relatable and light brand of cinema with films such as Rajnigandha, Baton Baton Mein and Chitchor, died on Thursday following age related health issues. He was 93.
Chatterjee, who is survived by his daughters Sonali Bhattacharya and Rupali Guha, died in his sleep at his Santacruz residence here.
The last rites of the filmmaker, who blazed a middle-of-the-road trail in the 1970s and 1980s, were performed at the Santacruz crematorium. Around 10 people, mostly family members including both the daughters and sons-in-law, were present at the cremation.
�In the passing of Shri Basu Chatterjee, the world of entertainment has lost a living legend...,� President Ram Nath Kovind said on Twitter while sending condolences to the filmmaker�s family and friends.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Chatterjee�s light-hearted films depicted various facets of the urban middle class. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered Chatterjee as a filmmaker whose cinema touched people�s hearts.
Chatterjee began as a cartoonist in a tabloid but changed his career path after assisting Basu Bhattacharya in the Raj Kapoor-Waheeda Rehman starrer Teesri Kasam.
The two Basus along with Hrishikesh Mukherjee formed the Hindi cinema�s triumvirate whose ethos lay firmly in the middle class and its day-to-day struggles at a time when most of the Bollywood was focused on larger-than-life stories of angst and tragedy.
Chatterjee�s cinema was progressive for the times, unhurried and a slice of everyday life � about conversations over cups of chai and romances blossoming in public buses, trains and office buildings.
He also forayed into small screen and for Doordarshan, he made hit TV serials like Byomkesh Bakshi and Rajani. � PTI
