A blood clot in lungs led to his death

MUMBAI: Noted theatre director Satyadev Dubey (75), known for his maverick style, passed away after a prolonged illness at 11.56am on Sunday at Shreeji Hospital in Santa Cruz. Dubey was hospitalised on September 18 following an epileptic attack which led to a stroke. "In the last 24 hours, his health deteriorated and a blood clot formed in his lungs which eventually led to his death," said Dr Pranav Shah, who had been attending to Dubey for the past few months. After news of his demise spread, the director's associates and his protégés thronged his residence in Phularani building at Sahitya Sahawas in Bandra (E). He was cremated at the Shivaji Park crematorium around 5 pm. Except for his brother's grandson, actor Satyajit Dubey, no one from his family in Bilapsur was present. "Since Dubeyji didn't have any relative in the city except for me, we decided to go ahead with the cremation today," said Satyajit, who acted in the movie Always Kabhie Kabhie produced by Shah Rukh Khan. Arun Kakde of Avishkar, who has known Dubey for 50 years, said the director did not believe in rituals and did not want to be cremated in the traditional manner. "He had made it clear that there should be no mourning or any sermons after his demise," he said. Actor Makrand Deshpande, who has been associated with Dubey for a long time, said he visited him at the hospital on Saturday evening. "He was in a semi-comatose state for the last two months, but we would always speak to him as if he was listening to us," he said. "Whenever I went out of Mumbai for a long stint, I would always tell him that I would return soon, but on Saturday, somehow I omitted to say this when I left Mumbai for some work." Theatre director Vijay Kenkre, who was associated with Dubey for four decades, said though Dubey lived alone in Mumbai, his house was always teeming with theatrepersons. "He was very passionate about theatre and whenever anyone had a concept or query, he would be all ears for it," says Kenkre.