Basu Chatterjee’s funeral: Family and friends bid filmmaker a final goodbye, see pics

Family, friends and Bollywood colleagues of late filmmaker Basu Chatterjee arrived at Santa Cruz crematorium to bid him a final goodbye on Thursday afternoon. Basu died on Thursday morning following age related health issues. He was 90.

Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA), was seen at the funeral. Sandip Sikand and other friend also braved the rain and water-logged streets to pay a final tribute. "Only family members were present, around 10 people, including both the daughters and sons-in-law. I was there because I wanted to be part of his journey," Ashoke told PTI.

Chatterjee, who is survived by his daughters Sonali Bhattacharya and Rupali Guha, died in his sleep at his Santacruz residence. "He passed away peacefully in his sleep in the morning. He hadn’t been keeping well for quite a while due to old age problems and died at his residence. It's a great loss for the film industry," Ashoke said.

Many people in the film industry and outside condoled the death of the director, who placed the middle class and its everyday joys and struggles at the centre of his cinematic world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered Chatterjee as a filmmaker whose cinema touched people’s hearts.

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"Sad to hear of the demise of Shri Basu Chatterjee. His works are brilliant and sensitive. It touched people's hearts and represented the simple and complex emotions, as well as struggles of people. Condolences to his family and innumerable fans. Om Shanti," the PM said on Twitter. Sending his prayers and condolences, Amitabh Bachchan described Chatterjee as quiet, soft spoken and gentle. “… his films reflected the lives of middle India… a sad loss..,” he said on Twitter.

(With PTI inputs)