Tribute: Surkar was looking forward to film's release

The Marathi film industry was shocked on Thursday as they came to know about the  sudden demise of noted film director Sanjay Surkar. Surkar was known to be soft spoken and was friendly with most of his actors and other directors.

Executive producer Pravin Wankhede who was working with Surkar for the last 10 years, and was present on the set, said, “The film is 90% complete. We were shooting for the film since four days and were supposed to shoot for three or four days. Surkar was busy in making arrangements to prepare for the next shot. Sachin Khedekar was supposed to arrive on the set and suddenly, Surkar collapsed. We immediately rushed him to Ratna Memorial Hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.”
He added, “Surkar was looking forward to the release of the film. He had told us on Wednesday that we should work fast and release the film soon.’’

Noted cinematographer Manoj Ane, who was also on present on the sets, said, “Sanjay collapsed after having breakfast. When he was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately, he expired. This is my first Marathi film. I was enjoying working with Sanjay. From a cinematographer’s point of view, he was an excellent director who used to give complete freedom to the cameramen. I used to find him very happy and calm on the sets which is phenomenal for a
director.’’

Noted film-maker and producer Smita Talwalkar whose film production company Asmita Films produced many of the films Surkar directed, was said to be in a shock and refused to comment. An emotional Neena Kulkarni also refrained from giving a reaction.

Surkar’s body was first taken to his residence in Swaranagari on Sinhagad Road and later was kept at Tilak Smarak Mandir. His final rites were performed at Vaikunth crematorium.
Film personalities who attended his funeral included Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Joshi, Subodh Bhave, Vibhavari Deshpande, Ravindra Mankani, Ajay Naik and Rahul Solapurkar.

'He gave me some memorable roles'
It is very shocking. Sanjay passed away at a very young age. He was a very talented director. He had given me some of the memorable roles in films like Chaukat Raja and Aapli Manse.
—Dilip Prabhavalkar, actor

Not only a director, but a close friend
My association with Sanjay goes back to 25 to 30 years. He was not only director for me but a close friend as well. His death came as a huge shock. He gave me different roles. He saw me in a different light.
—Sachin Khedekar, actor

A sensitive film-maker who loved literature
It is difficult to believe that Sanjay is no more. I have acted in two of his films, Sakhi and Gharabaher which proved to be milestones in my career. Sanjay was a very sensitive director who loved literature and poetry.
— Sonali Kulkarni, actor

Sanjay had deep knowledge of cinema
Sanjay’s sudden death is very shocking and tragic. He had a deep knowledge of cinema. It was Sanjay’s wish that there should be a good film on Lokmanya Tilak. He was contributing to the script of my film on Tilak.
—Nitin Desai, film-maker
 

i have lost a great friend
I have lost a great friend and a wonderful director. I have worked with him in Marathi serial Avantika, Hindi serial Akashdeep and Marathi film Gharabaher. It was a great privilege to work with such a sensitive and talented national award winning director. Since I am making a debut as a director, I am going to miss him. I had spoken to him on Wednesday night and his last words were ‘I am proud of you’.
— Mrinal Kulkarni, actor