Film director Pradeep Sarkar dies at 67
Mumbai (PTI): Filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, best known for the movie "Parineeta", passed away at a hospital early on Friday, his wife Panchali said.
He was 67.
The director was admitted to the ICU of Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra following a fever.
"He passed away between 3.10 am and 3.30 am at Lilavati hospital," his wife told PTI.
He had viral fever on March 22. After administering some medicines his fever subsided but not completely. So he was rushed to the hospital, she said.
"By the time we reached the hospital, his vitals started dropping. He was put on a ventilator in the ICU and was diagnosed with pneumonia. The infection attacked his lungs," the director's wife said.
"According to doctors, he had many comorbidities which weakened his immunity. His blood pressure was fluctuating. Since COVID-19 hit him in July 2022, he was quite weak," Panchali said.
Sarkar made his directorial debut with "Parineeta" in 2005. Some of his other directorial ventures include "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag" (2007), "Lafangey Parindey" (2010), "Mardaani" (2014), and "Helicopter Eela" (2018).
Many celebrities offered their condolences through social media.
Ajay Devgn said he is unable to fathom the news about Sarkar's demise.
"The news of Pradeep Sarkar's demise, 'Dada' to some of us, is still hard to digest. My deepest condolences. My prayers are with the departed and his family. RIP Dada," Devgn wrote.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta shared a picture of the director on Twitter and wrote, "Pradeep Sarkar. Dada. RIP."
Responding to Mehta's tweet, actor Manoj Bajpayee said he was shocked.
"Ohh! That's so shocking! Rest in peace Dada!!," he said.
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli remembered him as a sweet man. He shared the clip from the song 'Pihu Bole' from the movie "Parineeta" on social media.
"Shocked and sad to hear about Dada Pradeep Sarkar. Really sweet man. Had lovely conversations about cinema with him. RIP Dada. Here's a song from your film to celebrate you and your cinema," he said in the post.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
