Pakeezah, Deewar art director Marutirao Kale succumbs to Covid-19

By: Mohnish Singh

Veteran art director Marutirao Kale, whose credits include a series of Hindi classics such as Meena Kumari’s Pakeezah (1972) and superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s Deewaar (1975) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976), has died aged 92.

Kale is the latest Bollywood celebrity to have lost his life to novel coronavirus. He had tested positive for the virus earlier this month following which he was admitted to Holy Family Multispeciality Hospital in Bandra, Mumbai, where he breathed his last.

The veteran passed away on May 26, his daughter Meena Kapadia told a newswire. “He had tested positive for Covid-19 on May 7 and was admitted to Holy Family hospital. He passed away on May 26,” Kapadia said.

Kale’s tryst with Hindi cinema began with K Asif’s magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam (1960) as a carpenter. In years to come, he shifted to art direction and worked as assistant art director on several notable Hindi films, including Sunil Dutt and Sadhana's Mera Saaya (1966) and Manoj Kumar and Saira Banu’s Purab Aur Paschim (1970). He also worked on Manoj Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan’s 1974 blockbuster Roti Kapada Aur Makaan.

In his career spanning more than four decades, Kale has designed sets for more than 100 iconic Hindi films. Some of his other successful films as an independent art director include Amitabh Bachchan's Deewaar, Kabhi Kabhie, Mithun Chakraborty's Disco Dancer (1982) and Dance Dance (1987) and Saudagar (1991) featuring Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar, Vivek Mushran and Manisha Koirala.

Kale is survived by his wife and three daughters.

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