Sanjay Surkar

Sanjay Surkar was a Marathi film director who won three National Film Awards for the films Rao Saheb (1996), Tu Tithe Mee (1998) and Gharabaher (1999) in the Best Feature Film in Marathi category. He was also known for his work in television and theatre. He started his career as a theatre artist in Nagpur and later moved to Mumbai. He made his debut as a director with Chaukat Raja (1991), a family drama about a mentally challenged boy. He collaborated with producer and actor Smita Talwalkar on many films and television shows. He also directed films on social issues such as Saatchya Aat Gharat (2004), which dealt with the problem of rape, and Sukhant (2009), which explored the topic of euthanasia. He ventured into Bollywood with Stand By (2011), a film about the politics in football. He died on 27 September 2012 of a sudden heart attack while on the sets of his upcoming film Laathi. He was also working on the script of a biopic on the freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak. He was regarded as one of the most influential and respected directors of Marathi cinema.