Leading Bombay exhibitor-distributor Hemant Shah passed away today (15th December) at 9 a.m. at Hinduja Hospital in Bombay. He was in his sixties.
Hemantbhai, as he was called by the trade people, had gone to Silvassa a few days back with partner-brother Laxmichand and son Vivek for the opening of a three-screen miniplex, KK Cinemas. He felt unwell there and was admitted to a local hospital. From there, he was shifted to the ICU of Hinduja Hospital in Bombay. The diagnosis showed that both his kidneys had failed. He had also developed problems in his pancreas which had been operated upon some years ago. The pancreatic problem had resurfaced after he was infected with the Coronavirus in December last year.
Hemantbhai and Laxmichandbhai represented the second generation of the Shah family in this business. They took over from their father, Tilakbhai Shah. Hemantbhai’s son, Vivek, is also involved with the family film business conducted under the name and style of Tilak Enterprises. They control all Rajhans cinemas and several other cinemas in Bombay circuit. They had released a number of films, including Gadar – Ek Prem Katha and many films of Time, in Bombay circuit. They had also distributed several films in Gujarat and/or Saurashtra.
An extremely soft-spoken person, Hemantbhai is survived by his wife, son Vivek and twin daughters.