Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for directing the 1978 hit film Don starring Amitabh Bachchan, passed away on Sunday, July 20 at the age of 86.
His wife, Deepa Barot, confirmed the news and told TOI that he had been suffering from a lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis for the last seven years. She said he was receiving treatment at Guru Nanak Hospital from Dr Manish Shetty and had also been admitted to Jaslok Hospital earlier.
Barot was born and brought up in Tanzania. He first worked at a bank but later moved to India to follow his passion for films. With guidance from actor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar, he entered the film industry.
Chandra Barot made his directorial debut with Don, a film that came about when actor-producer Nariman Irani ran into financial trouble after his 1972 movie Zindagi Zindagi failed.
To support Irani, Barot and his team took on the project and brought in writers Salim-Javed, whose script had earlier been turned down by big stars like Dev Anand, Dharmendra, and Jeetendra.
After Don, Barot directed Bengali films like Aashrita (1989) and Pyar Bhara Dil (1991). However, many of his other films including Boss and Neil Ko Pakadna… Impossible – were never completed or released.
Despite this, Barot’s work lived on through the Don franchise. In 2006, Shah Rukh Khan starred in a new version of Don, which was a tribute to Barot’s original. That film was followed by a sequel, and now a third part is being made, directed by Farhan Akhtar and starring Ranveer Singh and Kriti Sanon.
Before making his mark as a director, Barot worked as an assistant director on well-known films like Purab Aur Pashchim, Yaadgaar, Shor, and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan.