Renowned Marathi Film Critic Sudhir Nandgaonkar Dies Aged 84

The New Year started on a sad note for the Marathi film industry, as renowned film critic Sudhir Nandgaonkar passed away on January 1. He was 84 years old. Sudhir was suffering from a prolonged illness before he succumbed to the ailment. The late scholar breathed his last at Majiwada in Thane, Maharashtra in the evening, spreading a wave of shock and sadness in the cine world. In his illustrious career, Sudhir has rendered an immense contribution to the film industry, which is incomparable.

The late film critic took an active part in looking after the Prabhat Film Society for over 56 years. Sudhir devoted his life to familiarising Marathi films to the nationwide audience by trying to build a connection. His name is etched in the entertainment world in golden letters due to Sudhir’s hard work and in-depth research in the cine industry.

Sudhir was able to generate a connection between the Marathi viewers and film critics in the field of drama, literature, music and films, through an affluent film society named Prabhat Chitra Mandal, established in Mumbai. Through a variety of movements and campaigns, Sudhir was able to promote films through the Prabhat Film Board. He even founded the famous MAMI or Mumbai Academy of Moving Images Film Festival. He was also the founder of the Third Eye Asian Film Festival.

Many social media pages have mourned the loss of the well-acclaimed scholar and film critic.

Sudhir was lauded for being an excellent film critic. Earlier, in an interview with Cinestaan.com, the critic spoke on the importance of Asian films. “In our country, we have 10-15 international film festivals. If Asian films are shown in these festivals, people don’t go to see them. People are more inclined towards European cinema. They neglect Asian films,” he had shared back then.

“From 1990 onwards, in European festivals, Asian films from China, Korea, and Iran started winning prizes. Their directors are now known. But they are not known in India. Even though our country is part of Asia, Asian films are not shown here. That’s why we started a separate festival for Asian films. The aesthetics of European and Asian cinema are quite different. To date, this is the only festival in India for Asian films,” elaborated Sudhir.

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