Veteran journalist, filmmaker Pritish Nandy dies at 73; Kher calls him ‘brave editor’

Veteran journalist, poet and filmmaker Pritish Nandy passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday, 8 January, sources close to him said.

Nandy (73), a Padma Shri awardee, died after a cardiac arrest at his home in south Mumbai and his last rites were performed in the evening, they said.

In a social media post, veteran actor and Nandy's friend Anupam Kher paid glowing tributes to him.

"Deeply deeply saddened and shocked to know about the demise of one of my dearest and closest friends #PritishNandy! Amazing poet, writer, filmmaker and a brave and unique editor/journalist!" Kher wrote.

"He was my support system and a great source of strength in my initial days in Mumbai. We shared lots of things in common. He was also one of the most fearless people I had come across. Always Larger than life. I learnt so many things from him. Off-late we didn’t meet much. But there was a time when we were inseparable! I will never forget when he surprised me by putting me on the cover of Filmfare and more importantly The Illustrated Weekly (magazines edited by Nandy)," Kher added.

Nandy was a former Rajya Sabha member of the Shiv Sena and also an animal rights advocate.

His company, Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC), made films like 'Sur', 'Kaante', 'Jhankaar Beats', 'Chameli', 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi', and 'Pyaar Ke Side Effects' and also produced the web series 'Four More Shots Please!'

Nandy wrote around 40 books of poetry in English and translated poems from Bengali, Urdu, and Punjabi into English.

Other Bollywood actors also paid tributes to the veteran journalist-filmmaker.

"Deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Mr. Pritish Nandy. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones. May his memory be a blessing and may you find strength in this difficult time. Rest in peace, sir," wrote actor Neil Nitin Mukesh

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who featured in Pritish Nandy-produced “Kaante”, a 2002 thriller and 2005’s “Shabd” wrote on X, penned: “A true creative genius and a kind soul, you will be missed sir. #PritishNandy.”

It was on January 8 evening, when veteran actor Anupam Kher confirmed the news of Nandy’s death due to cardiac arrest.

The actor took to his X, and shared a note in memory of the late director. He shared two monochromatic images of the late director from decades apart.

Kareena Kapoor, who starred in the 2004 film “Chameli”, produced by Pritish and daughter Rangita's Pritish Nandy Communications, took to her Instagram stories and shared pictures from the sets to pay a tribute to her producer.

A photograph had Kareena having a conversation with Pritish between shots. She captioned it with a red heart, folded hands, and infinity emojis with the pictures.

"Shocked and saddened to hear of @PritishNandy Sir’s demise! He was a maverick and wore his many hats with elan! He put so many talented people on the map in the movie business! Thank you, and farewell, Sir! RIP," said another actor Ranvir Shorey in his condolence message.

According to the website of his company PNC, "Poet, painter, renowned journalist and editor, television personality, animal activist, member of Parliament and maker of some of the best known films of the last decade, Pritish Nandy has changed the face of Indian media many times over."

He served as chairman of PNC, one of the first media and entertainment companies to go public in 2000.

Nandy received the Padma Shri, the EM Forster Literary Award, the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award, the International Association Award from the Humane Society of the United States, the Friends of Liberation War Honour from Bangladesh, and 100's of award nominations for the films PNC has produced, from all over the world, said the website.

The company described Nandy as a "magician with words and a true torch bearer for Incredible India".