Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi Passes Away At 64

Mumbai: Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi passed away at 64 on Sunday morning at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai. She was suffering from kidney ailment.

Her last rites will be conducted at Oshiwara Crematorium at 1 pm.

“Kalpana Lajmi passed away at the Ambani hospital at 4.30 am. She was suffering from a chronic kidney disease and liver failure. She was on dialysis. She has been in and out of the hospital for three years. The last rites will be possibly conducted today,” her brother Dev Lajmi told PTI.

Kalpana made her debut as an assistant director of veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal over three decades ago. She was known for directing acclaimed movies like – Rudaali, Darmiyaan: In Between and Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence and many more.

She had made her directorial debut with the documentary film DG Movie Pioneer.

Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon tweeted, “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.”

Actress Huma Qureshi wrote in Twitter, “Deeply saddened… at around 4:30 am today morning #KalpanaLajmi passed away .. May she rest in peace.”

Her last directorial was the 2006 Chingari, which featured Mithun Chakraborty, Sushmita Sen and Anuj Sawhney.

Kalpana was the daughter of painter Lalita Lajmi and niece of filmmaker Guru Dutt.

She had also authored a book on her companion of 40 years, Bhupen Hazarika. The book ‘Bhupen Hazarika-As I Knew Him’ was launched in Mumbai on September 8 by Shyam Benegal.