Bollywood loses another gem
Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, who delivered successful films such as 'Madaari' and 'Drishyam', died on August 17 at the age of 50.
The director was suffering from chronic liver disease as well as secondary infections, and was therefore admitted to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderabad on July 31.
In a statement, the hospital had stated, "The reports had come that he was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, we started antibiotics and supportive medications, upon which Kamat showed improvement, but his condition soon deteriorated with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness."
Nishikant was born on June 17, 1970 and hailed from a middle-class background. His father was a Mathematics professor, while his mother taught Sanskrit.
He went to study hotel management in Goa and that's where he got interested in theatre and became the cultural secretary of his college. Coming back to Mumbai, he became an editor for three years. He then worked in the TV industry for seven years and later became a writer.
After 15 years of struggle, Kamat made his directorial debut with Marathi film 'Dombivali Fast' in 2005, for which the film won the 'National Film Award' in 'Best Feature Film in Marathi' category.
He entered the Hindi film industry with 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' (2008). Starring Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan, Irrfan Khan, the film dealt with the aftermath of the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, where 209 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured. The film was critically acclaimed and won several awards, including the Filmfare Best Film Critics' for director Nishikant.
Kamat segued into commercial space with 'Force' (2011), starring John Abraham, Genelia D'Souza and the debutant Vidyut Jammwal. The movie was a remake of Gautham Menon's successful Tamil film, Kaakha Kaakha (2003) starring Suriya and Jyothika.
The Marathi film 'Lai Bhaari' (2014), starring Riteish Deshmukh and Radhika Apte was his next foray as a director and proved to be a bumper hit.
Nishikant later remade the acclaimed Malayalam film 'Drishyam', starring Mohanlal. His 2015 film under the same name, starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu in the lead, deviated in certain small ways from the original. However, the film too proved to be a critical and commercial hit.
He then teamed up with John Abraham again for 'Rocky Handsome' (2016),'.
Nishikant, who also acted in the films like 'Hava Aney De', 'Bhavesh Joshi', 'Daddy' and 'Julie 2', kind of stayed off directing after the release of his next 'Madaari' (2016). The film, starring Irrfan Khan, harked back to Nishikant's first film, Dombivali Fast, and had a common man reacting to the malaise that he saw around him.
Riteish Deshmukh, who was among the first ones to inform the film industry about the director's death, tweeted, "I will miss you my friend. Rest in peace Nishikant Kamat."
Mourning the death of the director, Ajay Devgn tweeted, "My equation with Nishikant was not just about 'Drishyam', a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright and ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant."
