The way he shot songs was unparalleled: Dia Mirza, Swanand on Pradeep Sarkar

Updated On: 25 March, 2023 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Upala KBR

Lyricist Swanand Kirkire, composer Shantanu Moitra and actor Dia Mirza remember the Parineeta filmmaker whose life revolved around music and movies

Pradeep Sarkar

At 51, Pradeep Sarkar won the National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for Parineeta (2005). Fifties is hardly the age bracket one associates with debutant directors. Yet, here was Sarkar, beginning his innings in the movies, armed with the wisdom and expertise that he had accrued from his 17-year career of making ads and music videos. From Shubha Mudgal’s Ab ke sawan to Euphoria’s Dhoom pichak dhoom and Sultan Khan’s Piya basanti, each music video showcased his keen eye for detail, and the ability to tell a story in an unhurried and honest manner. A trait that came to a climax in his maiden feature film, Parineeta, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1914 novella of the same name. With the love story, Bollywood got more than it bargained for — an honest voice in Sarkar, and a rich talent in actor Vidya Balan.

Dia Mirza and Swanand Kirkire