‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ writer Prayag Raj dies: Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi mourn demise

Celebrated screenwriter Prayag Raj, recognized for his work in Amitabh Bachchan blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony and Coolie, has died. The veteran author breathed his final on Saturday night on the age of 88 because of age-related points. Prayag Raj’s final rites had been held on Sunday morning. A number of personalities from the movie fraternity paid their final respect to Prayag Raj. Bachchan paid his tribute on his private weblog. “Last evening we lost another pillar of our great film industry,” he wrote.

Shabana Azmi, who starred in Amar Akbar Anthony, famous on X, “Sorry to hear about the passing away of writer director actor Prayag Raj. RIP.”

Anil Kapoor, who featured in Hifazat, written by Raj, additionally expressed his grief over the author’s demise. Taking to X, he mentioned, “I’m truly saddened by the loss of the late Prayag Raj. Working with him on ‘Hifazat’ was a privilege. May his soul rest in peace.”

Abhishek Bachchan additionally paid homage to the ‘stalwart’. He thanked him for ‘the innumerable celluloid memories’.

Prayag Raj’s son Aditya informed PTI that the author died at his Bandra residence. He mentioned, “He passed away peacefully on Saturday at 4pm at his residence in Bandra. He had multiple ailments since eight to ten years like heart disease and age-related issues.”

Raj’s final rites had been carried out at Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar and was attended by his household and buddies from the trade. The legendary author had greater than 100 movies to his credit score together with Huge B’s Naseeb, Suhaag and Coolie and Mard.

Prayag Raj additionally wrote the script for Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan’s Geraftaar. He contributed to the screenplays of Rajesh Khanna-starred Roti, Dharmendra and Jeetendra’s Dharam Veer amongst others. The final movie he contributed to was S Ramanathan-helmed unreleased Zamanat.