Pradeep Sarkar

Pradeep Sarkar (30 April 1955 – 24 March 2023) was an Indian director and screenwriter, best known for directing Parineeta (2005). He was a recipient of the Abby Award, Rapa Award, and the National Film Award. His body of work spans movies, music videos, feature film songs, and over 1000 commercials.

Sarkar was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, on 30 April 1955.

He attended Delhi College of Art and graduated with a gold medal in 1979. After a 17-year stint in mainstream advertising as a creative director, he started directing advertisement films within the advertising circles of Delhi. Sarkar was married to Panchali Sarkar, and they have a son, Ronit Sarkar, known as indie musician Rono.

Sarkar was admitted to Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre in Bandra, Mumbai on 22 March 2023 with fever and other complications where he died on 24 March 2023.

Sarkar's production house shot commercials for clients such as Tata Yellow Pages, ICICI Prudential, and Onida KY Thunder. The Aaj Tak TV commercials, shot in black and white, won both the Rapa Award and the Best Director of the Year Award at the Abby's.

Apart from commercials, Sarkar was also a prolific music video director. Shubha Mudgal's Ab Ke Saawan, Euphoria's Dhoom Pichak Dhoom and Maaeri, Sultan Khan's Piya Basanti, and Bhupen Hazarika's Ganga are some of his popular works.

He worked with Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed songs in Mission Kashmir and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Chopra picked Sarkar to direct Parineeta and won the National Film Award in the Best Debut Film of a Director category. Sarkar also won the Best Debutant Director in Screen Awards and the Hottest Young Director in Stardust Awards in 2006. Parineeta also went on to win five Filmfare Awards.

His next three feature films were Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Lafangey Parindey, and Mardaani, all of which were produced by Yash Raj Films. His 2018 film, Eela, was produced by Ajay Devgn Films. Sarkar was working on his “dream project” at the time of his death. The project titled ‘Priya Interrupted’, it was to be the biopic of Priya Rajvansh. Sarkar's first movie under Yash Raj Films was Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, which the New York Times dubbed as a "feminist fairy tale".