Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi passes away at 64

Renowned filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi passed away on Sunday morning (23rd September) at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. She was 64 years old.

Lajmi was suffering from a chronic kidney disease and liver failure. "She passed away at the (Kokilaben Dhirubhai) Ambani hospital. She has been in and out of the hospital for three years. The last rites will be possibly conducted today," her brother told PTI.

The cremation will take place at 12.30 pm at the Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai.

Health issues

In November last year, she was in hospital after her condition worsened. Prior to that, she had been bed-ridden for six months and had been undergoing dialysis every other day, according to Scroll.in.

Her mother had earlier revealed that Lajmi had lost one of her kidneys in surgery. The other one had an infection.

Lajmi was a director, a producer and a screenwriter. She worked on strong women-centric movies like "Rudaali", "Daman", "Darmiyaan".

A lot of Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to pay condolences to the deceased.

Deeply saddened... at around 4:30 am today morning #KalpanaLajmi passed away .. May she rest in peace.

— Huma S Qureshi (@humasqureshi) September 23, 2018

You will be missed Kalpanaji.Was not your time to go..but may your heart now be at peace.🙏🏻🕉🙏🏻 . Those days while shooting Daman will be a treasured memory. #KalpanaLajmi Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/mtteS4nAlZ

— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) September 23, 2018

RIP Kalpna lajmi!!!memories of the lovely dinner with you where you narrated me your film on ur life with bhupenda still linger... some beautiful stories remain untold... you l be missed

— Divya Dutta (@divyadutta25) September 23, 2018

President Ram Nath Kovind and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal were among those who paid tribute to the director.

Sorry to hear of the passing of Kalpana Lajmi, a film-maker of rare sensitivity. The repertoire of her work, from depicting strong and resilient women to cinematic renditions of Assamese life, was remarkable. Condolences to her family and well-wishers #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 23, 2018

Saddened to learn about the demise of veteran filmmaker #KalpanaLajmi ji. Her contribution to Indian cinema will be remembered forever.

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) September 23, 2018

She was the daughter of painter Lalita Lajmi and niece of filmmaker Guru Dutt. She began her cinematic career 25 years ago with veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal.

Career

Lajmi was a director, a producer and a screenwriter. Interestingly, she worked on strong women-centric movies like "Rudaali", "Daman" and "Darmiyaan".

The 1993 film 'Rudaali', based on noted Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi's short story, and starring Dimple Kapadia and Raakhee in strong roles, won critical acclaim.

She directed her last movie "Chingaari" in 2006. It was based on a novel "The Prostitute and the Postman" by Bhupen Hazarika, who was her partner. In fact, her memoir Bhupen Hazarika: As I Knew Him was launched earlier this month.

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