Pioneer of India’s Parallel Cinema Movement Was 83

Kumar Shahani, one of the pioneers of India’s arthouse parallel cinema movement, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Feb. 24 after a period of illness. He was 83.

Shahani studied screenwriting and direction at the Film and Television of India, where he was tutored by Indian master Ritwik Ghatak. He won a French government scholarship for higher studies in France, where he studied at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques and assisted Robert Bresson on “Une Femme Douce” (1969).

He returned to India and directed his first feature “Maya Darpan” in 1972. Shahani was known for his formalist style of filmmaking and his landmark films include “Tarang” (1984), “Khayal Gatha” (1989) and “Kasba” (1990).

Internationally, Shahani’s work was particularly appreciated at International Film Festival Rotterdam, which programmed several…