Director Chandra Barot, known for directing Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 1978 film Don, passed away on Sunday after a long battle with a lung disease. He was 86.

His wife, Deepa Barot, confirmed the demise to TOI and said, "He had been battling pulmonary fibrosis for the past seven years," she said.

The Don director was undergoing treatment at Bandra’s Guru Nanak Hospital. He had earlier also been admitted to Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai’s Tardeo.

The filmmaker started his career as an assistant director on the sets of Manoj Kumar’s Purab Aur Pachhim (1970). He continued to be the assistant on Kumar starrer’s like Yaadgaar (1970), Shor (1972) and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974) before making his debut as a director with Don, penned by the legendary screenwriting duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar.

Akhtar’s son and actor Farhan Akhtar, took to Instagram on Sunday to give condolences to Barot’s family. He posted some photos of the late director along with the caption, “Saddened to learn that the director of the OG Don is no more. RIP Chandra Barot-ji. Deepest condolences to the family.”

Barot was born to a family that later moved to Dar-es-Salaam, South Africa, due to political uncertainty in the 1930s. He worked at Barclay's Bank in Tanzania before pursuing a career in filmmaking. His decision to direct Don remains etched in Bollywood history — a gesture made to support his close friend and cinematographer-producer Nariman Irani.