Filmmaker Tapan Sinha is dead

Kolkata, Jan 15 (IANS) Tapan Sinha, the much awarded maker of critically acclaimed films like 'Uphaar' and 'Sagina Mahato', died here Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 84.

Sinha, who won 19 National Awards in various categories and was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement last year, passed away at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in south Kolkata where he had been admitted Dec 6.

'Sinha died early Thursday at the hospital. He was suffering from acute bronco-pneumonia and was on life support system,' a hospital spokesperson told reporters.

'His pulse rates were very low and he had stopped responding to medication since Wednesday night,' the spokesperson added.

Apart from winning laurels at home, the veteran filmmaker also won several awards in international film festivals like those in Berlin, Venice, London, Moscow, San Francisco and Locarno.

His films include 'Ankush', 'Ek Doctor Ki Maut', 'Safed Haathi' and 'Kabuliwala'.