Kolkata: National Award-winning Bengali filmmaker Anjan Das, best known for films like `Saanjhbatir Rupkathara`, `Achin Pakhi` and `Faltu`, today passed away following illness, family sources said.
Das, who was in his sixties, died at a hospital where he was being treated for liver cancer. His 2006 film `Faltu` which featured Soumitra Chatterjee and Indrani Halder had won the National Award for the best feature film on welfare. A poignant tale on refugees, it was based on Syed Mustafa Siraj`s story `Ranir Ghater Brittanto`.
Most of his films were adapted from literature. The director had won international critical acclaim with his 2001 film `Saanjhbatir Rupkathara` (Strokes and Silhouettes), a celluloid adaptation of poet Joy Goswami`s first novel.
It was showcased at several international film festivals like Montreal, London, Rome, Rotterdam, Edmonton, Madrid, Singapore among others.
His 2004 film `Iti Srikanta` (Yours truly, Srikanta) had bagged the National Award for Best Audiography. `Jara Brishtitey Bhije Chilo (Drenched in the ...Rain), based on a poem by Goswami, had won the special director`s award at Almaty, Kazakhstan besides fetching the jury special award for the director in Spain.
In 2010 his film `Achin Pakhi` was screened at the Cairo International Film Festival 2010. His other films include `Banshiwala`, `Bedeni` and `Ajana Batash`.
Having started his career with 1976 unsuccessful film `Sainik`, he changed tracks to make documentaries only to return to cinema few years later.