NEW DELHI: 84-year-old filmmaker Tapan Sinha died on 15 January after prolonged illness.

He had been in and out of hospital over the fast few years and was then admitted in December last year while suffering from pneumonia and septicaemia. He is survived by a son. His actress-wife Arundhuti Devi died in 1990.

Noting that the veteran filmmaker was a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2006, minister of state for information and broadcasting Anand Sharma said, "His film and theatre career spanning over six decades began as a sound engineer in Kolkata's New Theatre in 1946 and reached the peak of cinematic landscape with films like Sagina Mahato, Adalat O Ekti Meye and Ek Doctor Ki Maut. His cinematic excellence won him numerous National Film Awards in different categories and also international recognition."

During his lifetime, Sinha made 41 films, 19 of which won National Awards and laurels from international film festivals of London, Venice, Moscow and Berlin. His cinematic works were mostly down to earth depictions of the struggles of the common man.

Sinha had also been among the four film personalities who were honoured recently to mark India's 60 years of Independence.

Tapan Sinha's 1956 masterpiece Kabuliwala was shown at the last International Film Festival of India in Goa in a tribute in the 'Lifetime Classic Section'.

An unflinching belief in the indomitable human spirit marked the works of Tapan Sinha who never shied away from portraying the adversity in its most raw forms. However, his films always managed to convey the optimism that comes with unwavering trust in human capability to rise above one's circumstances.