Debu, dear friend, Bye......

Yet another personal loss - My dear friend and batch mate from the Institute, Debu Deodhar passed away in to eternity this evening ( 1, September 2010)

Debu Deodhar

A very close friend from the Institute days he was one of the two day scholars in our class, hailing from Poona, the other one was R.S. Agarwal. Now we have lost both of them, Agarwal having taken the lead. As I had written in an earlier post, we used to keep in touch with each other quite often and whenever possible during my short visits to Mumbai myself, Jaiswal and Venugopal Thakker used to have a get together and talk about good old days at the Institute. I found him always with a smile which was spreading cheer all around as a source of positive energy!

One of those Happier days at CC

This time about a month back while I was in Mumbai for the CAS program Jaiswal told me about the critical condition of Debu. Kanal and Kondra who were also attending the CAS , told me about Debu's illness. It seems Cancer had gained an upper hand as it was detected rather at a later stage. Since I had to leave as soon as the CAS was over, I could not pay a visit to him. I was not able to get him on the phone either and left an SMS message.

On my recent visit to Chennai, I happened to meet Kasturi Murthy and passed the information about Debu. I was hoping that Debu will get better and had only today sent a mail to Jaiswal inquiring about Debu's health. But, this evening I received the message from Kanal that Debu is no more!
God calls those dearest to him much too soon! May the Lord give strength to his near and dear to bear this untimely loss. I join in their prayers for the departed Soul to Rest in Peace.

Debu in 1968, at Film Institute

Short Bio and Filmography of Debu:

Debu Deodhar had worked for Directors like Raj Dutt, Amol Palekar, Aziz Mirza, Nana Patekar, Bhimsain and many others. He had also bagged awards like Maharashtra State Award, Zee Gaurav Puraskar, Goa State Award etc.

His work was last seen in a recently released Marathi film ‘Marmabandh’. His forthcoming films are 'Laadi Goadi' and 'Tamashaa'. Some of his other films were - Savalee 2007, Maati Maay 2006, Kshan 2006, Lal Salaam (2002), Pehchaan (2005) , Stumped 2003, Dhyasparva (2001), Kairee (2000) ,Lekroo (2000), Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (1999) ,Daayraa (1996), Bangarwadi (1996), Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991),Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen (1990), Lapandav (1993) Shejari Shejari, Gav Tas Changal, Tinhisanja & Akriet (1981).

He is survived by wife Shrabani, daughter Sai and son-in-law Shakti Anand.

JAISWAL - My Friend

Of the many friends at the Institute my classmate K.K. Jaiswal stands out as a special person for me. We all got instantly attracted by his sense of humour and rural innocence. He was always jovial, making fun of people and often finds himself being made fun of too. Coming from Allahabad, he was a typical Bhaiya from U.P. with rustic charm and sense of humour. He was always the Joker of the class. Dulal Roy, one of the Editing Students named him Jassu Lal Popatlal Pant. Even as of date, Debu calls him Jassu. Throughout the years, after passing from the Institute in 1971, he kept in contact with me and other friends and regularly sent New Year Greetings or letters keeping in touch with me. Often when I needed to contact any one from our batch, he used to provide me with their whereabouts. Whenever he came down south he used to call me up and I used to inform him about my visits to Bombay. At Bombay he will call up our common friends like Debu Deodhar and Venugopal Thakkar, so that we can have a reunion. Given below is one such reunion which took place at Cinematographers Combine's seminar at Mumbai a few years back.

Myself, Debu Deodhar and K.K.Jaiswal

While at the Institute he took his studies seriously and scored well in the examinations at the end of the First year. At that time ORWO film company was giving a Scholarship for the student who stood First in the class, which happened to be me. But I already was receiving a State Government Scholarship and I had the option of choosing any one of them. I chose the State Government Scholarship so that Jaiswal who was second in order could get the ORWO scholarship. During one of the vacations Jaiswal visited my home at Maduranthakam in Tamil Nadu and stayed there for a few days as my guest, and the picture below was taken during that visit.

Jaiswal (extreme Right) with my brothers, Parents and Grand Mother

He also visited Mahabalipuram and other places too and I hope to get those photos too. Years later during my Visits to Mumbai, whenever possible he used to take me home and I had stayed in his home and experienced the warmth of the hospitality of his parents.

The latest meeting we had was in 2005 when I visited the Institute to conduct a lighting workshop. It might sound odd, but the fact is I never visited my Alma Mater after I graduated from there until December 2005. That was thanks to Jaiswal who insisted that I should come there at any cost. It was a great opportunity to be back at the Institute and to meet some of the old friends like Surendar Chawdhary and other graduates. I also met once again my friend Virendra Saini who was there during my short visit.

Virendra Saini and Me

At present Jaiswal is working as an External Faculty at the Institute in the Cinematography Department