‘Don’ director Chandra Barot dies at 86, industry mourns loss

Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for directing the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Don, passed away on Sunday due to a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mumbai, his family said. He was 86 and is survived by his wife and a son.

Barot was battling 'Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis' (IPF-fibrosis of lungs) for the last 11 years and had been receiving treatment at the Guru Nanak Hospital, as per his family.

“Chandra passed away at the Guru Nanak Hospital this morning at 6.30 due to cardiac arrest caused by a chest infection. He had IPF, which is fibrosis of the lungs, for the past 11 years,” his wife Deepa Barot told PTI.

Before making his directorial debut with Don, the filmmaker served as an assistant director to actor-director Manoj Kumar in Purab Aur Pachhim, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Yaadgaar, and Shor. After Don, Barot directed the hit Bengali film Aashrita (1989).

Released in May 1978, Don, featuring megastar Amitabh Bachchan in a double role — that of a mafioso and a simpleton — went on to become a blockbuster with its racy music, iconic dialogues and pulsating action.

One of the most celebrated films of Barot's career, Don had its fair share of ups and downs. In 2018, on the 40th anniversary of the movie's release, Barot in an interview with PTI shared an interesting insight that he, along with his friends Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Pran — all of whom featured in Don — decided to make the film to pull one of their producer friends, Nariman Irani, out of debt.

“Bawa’s (Irani) wife was a hairdresser and knew writer Salim Khan. We asked her to put in a word for us. When we met Salim, he didn't have a script ready but told us, 'There is one subject which no one understands'.

"We said 'we don't care, we just want 'Salim-Javed' written on the posters'. It was a ready script and we took it immediately. It didn't even have a title. Everyone in the industry called it 'Don waali script',” Barot had recalled. Sadly, Irani passed away six months before the release of Don, he added.

The filmmaker also revealed that many big stars in the industry, including Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Dev Anand, had refused the movie, which was one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 1978.

Don was turned into a franchise by filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, son of Javed Akhtar, who had written the original script of the movie along with Salim Khan.

Film industry colleagues took to social media to mourn Barot's death, remembering him as a wonderful filmmaker who made one of the most entertaining Hindi movies. Farhan Akhtar paid tribute to the ‘OG’ Don filmmaker on Instagram.

“Saddened to learn that the director of the OG Don is no more. RIP Chandra Barot-ji. Deepest condolences to the family,” said the actor-filmmaker.

Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment bought the rights to the 1978 film and directed it in 2006, with superstar Shah Rukh Khan playing the titular role. He made the follow-up Don 2 in 2011. The third part of the franchise will see actor Ranveer Singh stepping into the shoes of Khan.

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli fondly remembered assisting the late director on an unreleased movie Boss, starring Vinod Khanna. “Chandra ji RIP sir. The only director I assisted. Not in Don. For a film with Vinod Khanna called Boss that never saw the light of day. But what an enriching experience working with him. Heard so many BTS stories of Don," Kohli said on X.

"I sided bunk college and assisted Chandra ji. Remarkably sharp man. Lovely person. Had a very enlightening and fun chat with him. Thank you, sir, for giving us #Don Indian cinemas' most stylish films to date,” he added.

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta thanked Barot for making Don, which he described as one of the most entertaining Hindi movies ever made. “Rest In Peace, Chandra Barot Sir. Many thanks for DON. One of the most entertaining Hindi films ever,” he said.