Pradeep Sarkar, director of ‘Parineeta’, no more

Filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, best known for helming movies like "Parineeta", "Helicopter Eela", and "Mardaani", passed away earlier today. The director, 67, had reportedly been ill for a while and was undergoing dialysis. 

According to the Indian Express, after his potassium levels dropped, he was urgently taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save him. According to the report, funeral plans have been arranged for 4 pm today in Santacruz, Mumbai.

Speaking to the media, the director's wife shared, "He passed away between 3:10 am and 3:30 am, at Lilavati hospital. Previously, he had been hit by a viral fever, which had slowly diminished after treatment. When he got sick again, we took him to the hospital quickly, but his vital signs had already begun to decline by the time we got there. In the ICU, he was placed on a ventilator, after the pneumonia was identified. His lungs were affected by the virus." 

On social media, a number of Hindi film industry luminaries expressed their sympathies to the filmmaker. On Twitter, director Hansal Mehta posted a picture of Pradeep Sarkar with the caption: "Indradeep Sarkar. Dada. RIP".

Pradeep Sarkar got his start in the film industry with Rajkumar Hirani, with whom he co-edited the movie "Munna Bhai MBBS". "Parineeta", starring Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt, was his debut film as a filmmaker.