Theatre Director Dinesh Thakur Is No More

Dinesh Thakur in the play, 'Anji'.

Dinesh Thakur, a veteran of Hindi theatre in Mumbai, passed away early this morning at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri. He died of a brain hemorrhage. Thakur, who was 65 and had been ailing for months, was the founder of the theatre group Ank. As an actor and director, Thakur was prolific. Many of his dramas ran for years clocking hundreds of shows. One of his most popular plays is a Hindi version of Asghar Wajahat’s Partition drama Jis Lahore Nahin Dekhya, which has had a run of more than 200 shows. The comedy Hai Mera Dil has done over 1,000 shows since it premiered in 1979. Those unfamiliar with Mumbai’s theatre scene might remember Thakur as one of the male leads in Basu Chatterjee’s 1974 film Rajnigandha.