'Mother of Asian cinema' passes away

MINENT film critic, curator and author Aruna Vasudev, regarded as the 'mother of Asian cinema', died on Thursday morning at a hospital in Delhi due to age-related illness, her close friend Neerja Sarin said.

She was 88. Vasudev had been undergoing treatment at a multispecialty hospital for the past three weeks.

"She was not keeping well for some time. She had Alzheimer's and was suffering from other old age-related health issues as well. She died at the hospital this morning," Sarin told PTI.

Vasudev was married to the late diplomat Sunil Roy Chowdhury. She is survived by her graphic designer-daughter Yamini Roy Chowdhury, the wife of politician Varun Gandhi. The last rites will be held at the Lodhi Road crematorium.

A multi-faceted personality

From her humble origins in preIndependent India and to the corridors of the cinematic universe, Vasudev acted throughout her life as a critic, author, editor, painter, documentary maker, trustee, member of several panels, and above all, the torch bearer of Asian cinema.

The Delhi-based scholar was the founder-editor of Cinemaya: The Asian Film Quarterly. She is also credited with founding the internationally-renowned Netpac 29 years ago, a worldwide organisation to forward the cause of Asian films.