Chandra Barot, director of Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic film ‘Don,’ passes away at 86

Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for helming Amitabh Bachchan’s 1978 cult classic Don, passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday (July 20). He was 86.

Chandra’s wife, Deepa Barot, confirmed the news to TOI, stating that the filmmaker had been battling pulmonary fibrosis for over seven years.

Farhan Akhtar, who is directing the third film in the renewed Don franchise, paid tribute to Chandra on Instagram, writing, “Saddened to learn that the director of the OG Don is no more. RIP Chandra Barot-ji. Deepest condolences to the family.”

Born and raised in Tanzania, Chandra worked at the Barclays Bank in Dara-es-Salam, before racial turmoil forced him to leave the country in 1967. In India, he pursued his passion in filmmaking and joined late veteran actor-director Manoj Kumar as an assistant director, working in films such as Purab Aur Pachhim, Yaadgaar, Shor andRoti Kapada Aur Makaan.

In 1978, he made a film he would forever be remembered for: the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer, Don, which had a script written by Salim–Javed. However, pundits would fondly remember him for the reason he directed the film in the first place. Chandra wanted to help his friend, cinematographer-producer Nariman Irani, who had suffered terrible financial losses reportedly due to the failure of 1972’s Zindagi Zindagi. After Don, Chandra helmed the Bengali film Aashrita in 1989, and returned to Hindi cinema with 1991’s Pyar Bhara Dil.

Chandra’s subsequent projects, Hong Kong Wali Script and Neil Ko Pakadna….Impossible, never saw the light of the day.

However, Don lived on. In 2006, the film was rebooted in a new franchise by director Farhan Akhtar and lead star Shah Rukh Khan. They reunited again for a sequel, the 2011’s Don 2: The King Is Back. Farhan is now making a third Don film with actor Ranveer Singh in the lead.

The legacy of Don stretches far and beyond Bollywood, paving way for renditions headlined by the likes of Rajinikanth, Ajith Kumar, Prabhas and Mohanlal.

The news about Chandra’s death has shocked the film industry. Fans, well-wishers and colleagues from the film fraternity have been expressing their condolences.