10 Apr : Noted filmmaker Shakti Samanta, who made superhit movies like "Kati Patang", "Amar Prem" and "Aaradhana", died in Mumbai on Thursday after a brief illness.He was 83 and is survived by wife, two sons and two grandsons.
"He passed away at around 5 pm at his suburban Santacruz residence. He was recovering from a stroke which he suffered over two months ago," a family member said.
"Samanta was discharged two weeks ago from Jaslok Hospital where he was treated for two months. He was slightly paralysed and was recovering slowly," Ashim Samanta, son of the film maker said.
"However, his health deteriorated today," said Ashim, also a film director.Samanta’s funeral would be held at Santacruz crematorium at 11 am on Friday, the family member said.
Samanta had produced box-office hits like ‘Kati Patang’, ‘Amar Prem’ and ‘Aradhana’ starring Rajesh Khanna.Samanta, a former president of Indian Motion Pictures Association of India (IMPAA), directed 43 feature films, including 37 Hindi and 6 Bengali films.
He was among the directors who worked with Shammi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna, creating a number of hit films like ‘Aradhana’, ‘Kati Patang’ and ‘Amar Prem’.
Shakti Samanta directed his first feature film, ‘Bahu’ in 1954. After the success of his next few films like ‘Inspector’ (1956), ‘Sheroo’ (1956), ‘Detective’ (1957), Samanta started his own film production house.
Apart from his movies, the director is remembered for introducing actress Sharmila Tagore.
He also teamed up with the heartthrob of 1960’s, Shammi Kapoor and worked together in films like ‘An Evening in Paris’ and ‘Chinatown’.
