Lekh Tandon, director of Oscar-nominated film Amrapali, passes away aged 88

Mumbai: Veteran filmmaker Lekh Tandon, who directed iconic films like Amrapali, has died, it was announced on Sunday. He was 88. Tandon passed away at his residence on Saturday.Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted, "Sad to know about the demise of one of the finest TV and film directors Lekh Tandon ji. Your work is immortal. Will miss U. #RIP"Born in Lahore in 1929, Tandon directed many Bollywood stalwarts like Shammi Kapoor (Professor, 1962; Prince, 1969), Rajender Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi, Rekha and Rajesh Khanna to name a few. His Amrapali (1966), featuring Sunil Dutt and Vyjayanthimala, was selected as Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at 39th Academy awards.He also bagged the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award for his movie Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye, along with Vrajendra Gaur and Madhusudan Kalekar in 1978.He directed his first television serial Dil Dariya in 1988 for which he was also credited for discovering Shah Rukh Khan. Tandon also acted in films like Swades, Chennai Express and Rang De Basanti among others.His funeral will be held on Monday.With inputs from IANS.