MNS Chief Raj Thackeray mourns director Nishikant Kamat's demise, terms it a 'huge loss'

Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, best known for directing the thriller drama Drishyam, died on Monday after battling liver cirrhosis for two years, the AIG Hospitals here said. He was 50. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray took to his social media handle to mourn his demise.

Thackeray wrote that he didn't only lose a 'close friend' but also a 'passionate upholder of cinema as an art form' in Nishikant Kamat. In a heartfelt statement released by Thackeray, he highlighted Kamat's 'Dombivali Fast', which 'will always remain etched in Marathi cinema.'

He wrote, "Our film industry suffers another huge loss; an outstanding director, Nishikant Kamat. He was deeply passionate about cinema and his craft. To put things in the right perspective, very few could match his sense and sensibilities of direction as an art form. His visualisation was so well conceptualised, that when he presented it on celluloid it was rock solid.

Each decade has witnessed a 'cult cinema'. 'Dombivali Fast' will be etched in Marathi cinematic history as a cult movie of the past decade. The repercussions that a common man faces due to the socio-political upheavals and the inner conflicts that arise out of that was judiciously handled by him. His journey of giving voice to the angst of the common man which began with the Marathi film, Dombivali Fast continued with the Hindi film, 'Mumbai Meri Jaan.' He was one of the few directors, who had the potentional of creating movies par excellence in both the Marathi and Hindi film industries.

With his demise, I have not only lost a close friend but also a passionate upholder of cinema as an art form. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offers a heart felt homage to Shri Nishikant Kamat."

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Kamat started his cinema journey as an actor with 2004 feature "Hava Aney Dey", opposite Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajshree Thakur. He made his debut Marathi film "Dombivali Fast" a year later. The movie won the National Film Award for best Marathi film and was lauded by the critics for its depiction of a common man's fight against a corrupt system. 

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(With PTI inputs)