Pakeezah and Deewar art director Maruti Rao Kale dies

Veteran Art Director Maruti Rao Kale has died due to Covid -19 complications in Mumbai. He was 92 years old. Kale breathed his last on the night of May 26, his daughter Meena Kapadia said. Meena shares, “my father tested positive for Covid-19 on May 7, we immediately admitted him to Holy Family Hospital in Bandra, but he passed away.”

In a career spanning more than four decades, Kale designed sets for more than 100 Hindi films. Before donning the hat of art director, Kale used to work as a carpenter on film sets. Mughal-e-Azam (1960) was one such iconic movie. Later, he was picked up by the London Film Production Ltd as an assistant art director, and later turned a full-time independent art director.

Some of films he would be remembered for include Sunil Dutt and Sadhana’s Mera Saaya (1966), Meena Kumari’s Pakeezah (1972), Manoj Kumar and Saira Banu’s Purab Aur Paschim (1970) and Manoj Kumar and Zeenat Aman's Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor's Deewar (1975), Mithun’s Disco Dancer (1982), Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhi’s Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar’s Saudagar (1991) among others.

He was among the most popular art director's in Bollywood.