An era of Bollywood ended with the death of critically acclaimed filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi. The 64-year-old Hindi film Daman movie director and writer breathed her last on 4.30 a.m.(IST) at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
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The sad news was confirmed by Kalpana’s brother Dev Lajmi. As revealed by Dev, Kalpana Lajmi had been suffering from a chronic kidney disease and ultimately, she had liver failure that resulted in her demise.
In an interview with PTI, Dev further discussed how Kalpana had been in and out of hospitals from the last three years due to dialysis.
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Kalpana Lajmi’s last rites were held in a crematorium in Mumbai’s Oshiwara area where family and friends gathered to pay their last respects to the deceased filmmaker. Among famous Bollywood celebrities actress Shabana Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt along with Soni Razdan and filmmaker Shyam Benegal arrived at the crematorium.
In the meanwhile, Bollywood flooded social media platforms with condolences for Kalpana’s family and friends.
You will be missed Kalpanaji.Was not your time to go..but may your heart now be at peace.????? . Those days while shooting Daman will be a treasured memory. #KalpanaLajmi Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/mtteS4nAlZ
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) September 23, 2018
Deeply saddened… at around 4:30 am today morning #KalpanaLajmi passed away .. May she rest in peace.
— Huma Qureshi (@humasqureshi) September 23, 2018
RIP #KalpanaLajmi . My first exposure to a film shooting was while working as a song director and editor in Daman . Remember many evenings of food and music in her residence along with Bhupen Da. Learned a lot while working with her . pic.twitter.com/DMHI39yxWu
— Onir (@IamOnir) September 23, 2018
I will miss her strong energetic voice, her indefatigable drive to create, her laughter that was always so full of real joy and her wonderful sense of humour. Most of all I will miss my movie partner. Cant believe you’re gone Kalpana. RIP sweetheart ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kJFCKtct7e
— Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) September 23, 2018
Deeply saddened. In #KalpanaLajmi ji's passing away we've lost a great soul.While doing #Rudali with her, I couldn't stop admiring her immense capability to empathise. Always, a great friend – Kalpana ji, you will be missed very much. pic.twitter.com/kNg2gvIobg
— Raj Babbar (@RajBabbarMP) September 23, 2018
Politicians like Chief Minister of Assam— Sarbananda Sonowal and Chief Minister of Odisha—Naveen Patnaik too expressed their grief for the loss of such a filmmaker.
Saddened to learn about the demise of veteran filmmaker #KalpanaLajmi ji. Her contribution to Indian cinema will be remembered forever.
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) September 23, 2018
Saddened on the demise of #KalpanaLajmi, noted filmmaker and an icon of independent cinema in the country. Her films are vividly remembered for their women-centric stories and her presence will be missed in Indian cinema.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) September 23, 2018
Kalpana Lajmi will be remembered for making women centric films like ‘Daman’, ‘Rudaali’, ‘Chingaari’ and many more. Few years back Kalpana was in news for publishing a book about her long-time companion and singer-poet-filmmaker Bhupen Hazarika. The book ‘Bhupen Hazarika – As I Knew Him’ was launched by filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
We hope Kalpana Lajmi’s family and friends find strength during this difficult time.
