Esmayeel Shroff, a veteran director, died late Wednesday in Mumbai after succumbing to a brief illness. He passed away in the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, according to an IANS report. He was about 65 years old. Agar, God and Gun, Ahista Ahista, Zid, Police Public, Majhdhaar, Dil Akhir Dil Hai, Bulundi, Nishchaiy, Suryaa, and Jhuta Sach were just a few of the successful movies the late filmmaker directed. He graduated from the National Institute of Technology with a degree in sound engineering and is originally from Andhra Pradesh. However, his passion for film led him to Bombay, where he first found a career as an assistant director.
In 1986, Shroff also helped Govinda get his debut in Bollywood. When told of his passing, Govinda expressed his sadness, saying, “I’m deeply saddened. My career started with his film. Uparwala unko jannat naseeb karaye (may God place his soul in heaven). May his soul rest in peace. Not only did he give me work, but he used to have faith in me, too. He was the first person in my life who said that Govinda understands cinema. He played a big role in making me Govinda from Govind".
However, Padmini Kolhapure fondly reminisced about her time spent working with the late director. She told, “I did Thodisi Bewafaii and Ahista Ahista with him. Ahista Ahista is very close to my heart. He seemed strict in his demeanour but he had a smiling face. He was very sure about what he wanted and he would put it across. We got along very well as actor-director. He was a very sensitive director. It's a huge loss. He left his mark in the industry.”
Esmayeel Shroff's death was also lamented by filmmaker Ashoke Pandit on his Twitter account. He sent out a simple tweet saying, “Sad to know about the demise of ace filmmaker Esmayeel Shroff.”
