Sumitra Bhave no more: National Award-winning director and writer

Sumitra Bhave, a National Award-winning director and a writer, has passed away, reports said on Monday (April 19, 2021) morning.

The noted Marathi filmmaker died aged 78-year-old. She reportedly took her last breath in Pune.

She was 78-years-old. Sumitra Bhave was undergoing treatment in a private hospital. She was suffering from age-related ailments. 

Sumitra Bhave changed the face of Marathi Cinema along with Sunil Sukthankar. The duo worked predominantly in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. Bhave and Sukthankar have made seventeen feature films, more than fifty short films, and four TV serials; all of which have been written by Bhave. Sunil Sukthankar, a Film and Television Institute of India graduate (1989) is also an actor and a lyricist. He has written more than 90 songs for their own films as well as various other Marathi and Hindi films so far. The duo has won various national and international accolades. In 2016 their feature film ‘Kaasav’ won the prestigious President Golden Lotus National Award.

Sumitra Bhave, notably, was a part of several National Award-winning films that included Vaastupurush, Kaasav, Samhita, Astu, and Devrai. She is also said to be one of the people who changed the landscape of Marathi cinema.