Eminent film critic & author Aruna Vasudev passes away at age of 88

Aruna Vasudev, the eminent film critic and author passed away at the age of 88 on Thursday morning due to age-related illness.

She was undergoing treatment at a multi-speciality hospital for the past three weeks.

“She was not keeping well for some time. She had Alzheimer's and was suffering from other old age-related health issues as well. She died at the hospital this morning,” her close friend Neerja Sarin told PTI.

Aruna was married to the late diplomat Sunil Roy Chowdhury and was survived by her daughter Yamini Roy Chowdhury, wife of BJP leader Varun Gandhi.

From her humble origins in pre-independent India and to the corridors of the cinematic universe, Vasudev wore many hats throughout her life as a critic, author, editor, painter, documentary maker, trustee, member of several panels and above all, the torch bearer of Asian cinema.

Aruna was the founder-editor of ‘Cinemaya: The Asian Film Quarterly’. She also founded the internationally-renowned Netpac 29 years ago, a worldwide organisation to promote the cause of the Asian cinema.

As the news of Aruna Vasudev’s demise spread, several people including Bollywood actors, film critics paid their condolences.

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi said she is "saddened" to hear about Vasudev's passing.

"She was the pioneer for making Asian films a genre to be talked about as a separate identity of its own. There are many laurels to her credit but I will always remember her for her warmth and radiant smile. Her observations were always insightful and I enjoyed being with her a lot. My condolences to her family. RIP dear dearest Aruna,” Azmi wrote on Instagram.

“Growing up 80s-90s Delhi, world cinema—specially from Asia & the Arab world—first came home to us because of the ceaseless untiring efforts of Aruna and Latika Padgaonkar through their Cinefan film festival and Cinemaya magazine,” film critic and author Namrata Joshi wrote on X.

“Rest in Peace, Aruna Ma'am... Thank you for curating one of the best film festivals of Delhi. A lot of us were introduced to some of the finest world cinema because of you. #arunavasudev,” posted filmmaker Sania Hashmi.

Aruna had also directed or produced around 20 documentaries, and edited or co-edited several books, including a translation from French into English of Jean-Claude Carriere’s "In Search of the Mahabharata: Notes of Travels in India with Peter Brook".