‘Hiralal’ director Arun Roy passes away, Tollywood mourns death

KOLKATA: Tollywood woke up to the sad news of the demise of renowned Bengali director Arun Roy on Thursday, who passed away at 56 after battling cancer and a severe lung infection. He breathed his last at RG Kar Hospital and the news was confirmed by actor Dr Kinjal Nanda, who made his debut in Roy’s ‘Hiralal’.

Known for his exceptional work in historical and biographical films, Roy was battling cancer for the past few years. “Stay in peace, my Hiralal, just like the original Hiralal,” wrote Nanda.

The late director’s body was taken to his Haridevpur house and later placed at Technicians’ Studio for his fans and colleagues to pay respect. From Dev, who acted and produced his last venture ‘Bagha Jatin’, Rukmini Maitra, Parambrata Chatterjee, several Tollywood actors and directors paid homage to the deceased filmmaker.

Dev, who visited the ailing director at the hospital, was seen in tears at the Technicians’ Studio. Calling him his ‘friend’, Dev made sure his last rites were performed without any hassle. He was accompanied by an emotional Rukmini, who called him a ‘hero’. The two were seen stepping down from the hearse that carried Roy’s body to the Keoratala crematorium. It was during the shooting of ‘Bagha Jatin’ that Roy was diagnosed with cancer. Despite his ailing health, he remained steadfast in his work and completed the shoot for ‘Bagha Jatin’ and also ‘Aranyer Dinratri’. In fact, Dev and Roy had plans to work on a film on Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. In an industry where few directors take the risk of shooting biographical films, Roy always had a knack of revisiting history. In fact, in 14 years, he made just five films. He made his debut with the widely praised ‘Egaro’, followed by the socially impactful ‘Cholai’, historically significant ‘Hiralal’, ‘8/12 Binay Badal Dinesh’ and ‘Bagha Jatin’. For Roy, it was never about chasing box office numbers but staying true to the narrative.