National Award-winning filmmaker Sumitra Bhave passes away

Sumitra, along with her colleague and co-director Sunil Sukhthankar, were considered path-breaking filmmakers who brought a sea of change in the Marathi film industry
Photo Courtesy: IANS
Photo Courtesy: IANS

Seven-time National Award-winning Marathi filmmaker and writer Sumitra Bhave passed away in Pune due to age-related ailments. She was 78 and breathed her last at a private hospital early this morning.

Sumitra, along with her colleague and co-director Sunil Sukhthankar, were considered path-breaking filmmakers who brought a sea of change in the Marathi film industry, bringing it both commercial success and critical acclaim.

Born in Pune, Sumitra completed her MA in Political Science and later acquired another MA in Political Science & Sociology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Later she worked as a teacher at Pune's Karve Institute of Social Sciences, an NGO, and also as a Marathi newsreader with All India Radio.

She made her first short film Bai in 1985 for Stree Vani, which went on to bag her the first of her seven National Awards, for Best Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare (1986), followed by another short film Paani that got the National Award in 1988.

When she was making her debut film, Sunil Sukhthankar, an FTII graduate, joined her as an assistant director. They went on to make the Marathi film Doghi (1995), which got them awards at the Maharashtra State Film Awards and another National Award in 1996.

They collaborated on another National Award winner, Vaastupurush (2002), and Dahavi Fa, which won the Best Director and Best Film Award at the Maharashtra State Film Awards in 2003.

The duo's film Devrai (2004) also bagged a National Award and several state awards.

Among their other prominent films were Kaasav (2016), which bagged the National Award in 2017, Aastu (2013), which got a National Award, and other short and feature films which bagged awards at various Indian and International film festivals worldwide.

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