KOLKATA, Jan 15: Indian filmmaker Tapan Sinha, a master storyteller best known for his children’s films, died on Thursday, his family said. He was 84.

Sinha, a recipient of India’s highest award for cinema the Dadasaheb Phalke award died in a city hospital after prolonged illness, his grandson Rangan A.K. said.

A contemporary of filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Sinha’s body of work of over 50 films includes adaptations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s novels.“He was an unassuming gentleman who had a strong ear for music and great command over adaptation of famous literary works,” said critic Shoma A. Chatterji.

Sinha, who began his career as a sound engineer in 1946, made several films based on Tagore’s stories, including the award-winning 1956 film ‘Kabuliwala’, a poignant story of friendship between a girl and an Afghan dry fruit seller.

Some of Sinha’s films were set in the backdrop of the Maoist movement in West Bengal in the early 1970s and were critical of the political system.

In ‘Adalat O Ekti Meye’ (The Law and a Lady), the director dealt with the sensitive subject of a rape victim ostracised by society.

Sinha is survived by a son and daughter. —Reuters