Well-known Marathi film director, producer and writer Sumitra Bhave passed away early this morning (19th April) at Sahyadri Hospital in Pune following a brief illness. She was 78. She is survived by a daughter who is also a writer.
Sumitra Bhave made films with her fellow collaborator and filmmaker Sunil Sukthankar. Together, they gave the Marathi audience such thought-provoking films as Devrai, Doghi, Vaastupurush, Ha Bharat Maza, Samhita and Kaasav. Although she did not come from a film background, she became a big name in Marathi cinema because her films invariably prompted people to ponder. She and Sukthankar were not really enamoured of commercial or box-office success. Her Doghi won three National Awards. Astu dealt with Alzheimer’s Disease while Devrai delicately dealt with the sensitive topic of schizophrenia. Atul Kulkarni, who worked with Bhave and Sukthankar in Devrai and Dahavi Fa, delivered some of his best performances in their films. Her Kaasav also won a National Award. In all, she made 17 films with Sukthankar.
Sumitra graduated from Pune’s Fergusson College and went on to do post-graduation in social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Bombay. She worked as a news reader in Delhi All India Radio and then also worked at other places. She taught social work and involved herself in social research projects. She joined the film industry in 1985 with a short film. She and Sukthankar made their first Marathi feature film, Doghi, in 1995.