'Mardaani' fame editor Sanjib Datta passes away at 54
Renowned Bollywood editor Sanjib Datta, who was known for his work in Mardaani, Iqbal, Dor, etc, has passed away. He was 54. According to reports, he died following a bypass surgery. His demise was confirmed by filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor, who's "devastated" by the news. "I've been told he went in for a bypass surgery a few days ago but never came back," Nagesh said.
Lauding the late editor, Nagesh stated, "He was the last of Renu Saluja school. She trained many people but no one carried her legacy the way he did. In fact, Renu was editing Bollywood Calling when she passed away. He finished the editing but never took credit." Notably, Datta and Nagesh were frequent collaborators, and the former has edited 13 of his movies.
Expressing his grief over the news, director Apurva Asrani also penned an emotional message on Twitter. Calling him a "fine editor", Apurva wrote that he will always "remember him as a mature craftsman & a thorough gentleman." To note, Apurva and Datta had worked together in Nagesh's movies like Aashayein (2010) and Tasveer 8x10 (2009), wherein the two shared the editing credits.
Apart from Apurva and Nagesh, other celebrities like director Sujoy Ghosh and writer-director Jyoti Kapur Das also paid their condolences. "One of our finest editor sanjib datta. bhalo thakis kaka... we will miss you," tweeted Ghosh. On the other hand, Jyoti wrote, "A friend, a senior and such a good editor... Sanjib Datta, wish you'd have taken better care of yourself, brother... Om Shanti."
A friend, a senior and such a good editor... Sanjib Datta, wish you'd have taken better care of yourself, brother... 🙏🏻 Om Shanti 🙏🏻
— Jyoti Kapur Das (@jkd18) September 15, 2019
For the uninitiated, Datta was an alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). He started his career by assisting Renu Saluja. However, he got his break with 1998 film, Bada Din. Thereafter, Datta edited more than 80 films, which included both Hindi and Bengali ones. He has also worked with several renowned directors like Kundan Shah, Sriram Raghavan, Pradeep Sarkar etc.
