Tollywood remembers Hrishida

Kolkata, Aug 27 (UNI) Cine lovers of Bengal and Tollywood expressed deep shock at the demise of legendary film maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee today.

Although Hrishikesh Mukherjee was not very closely associated with Tollywood, the actors and all those related to the Bengali film industry felt the director's death was an irreplaceable loss to the film fraternity as a whole.

Tollywood star Prosenjit Chatterjee said, ''It is a great loss to the entire film industry and it is difficult to fill the void left by him. In the present era, it is very difficult to make films like 'Mili', 'Guddi' and 'Abhimaan', which had a touch of simplicity in them.'' Actor Arjun Chakraborty also agreed with his co-actor, saying the cine-going public was rejecting the present genre of films because they could not match up to the kind of films Hrishida made.

The death of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner has numbed the Tollywood film fraternity. Noted Bengali film director Prabhat Roy, expressing deep grief at the demise of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, described the director as a fine gentlemen and very helpful especially to those who were connected to the film industry.

Mr Roy said, '' Whenever we went to Mumbai and sought his advice, he was always forthcoming. We will feel his absence for a long time to come.'' Film actors Chinmoy Roy and Tapas Pal also paid rich tributes in memory of the talented director and recalled their close association with him although they did not feature in any of his films.

Tapas Pal said, ''He was like our elder brother and was always ready with film-related tips.'' Although his role in Bengali fims was limited, the director, best remembered for the film 'Anand', besides other hits like 'Chupke Chupke', 'Bawarchi', 'Mili', 'Guddi', 'Satyakam' and 'Abhimaan' will be remembered as one of the best filmmakers of all time.

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