Screenwriter, author, journalist, columnist Yashwant Ranjankar dies at 87

Screenwriter, author, journalist, playwright and columnist Yashwant Ranjankar died today in Mumbai’s Hiranandani Hospital. He was 87 and had not been keeping well for some time.

Ranjankar was the writer of a number of Marathi films, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, with Dhakti Soon (1986), starring Laxmikant Berde, Savita Prabhune and Vasant Shinde, being one of his more notable works.

Ranjankar also wrote films like Te Majhe Ghar (1963), Karava Tasa Bharava (1975), Sikka (1976), Shapit (1982), Ardhangi (1985), Khara Warasdar (1986), Sarja (1987), Kashasathi Premasathi (1987), Zakali Muth Sawwa Lakhachi (1989) and Jeeva Sakha (1991). He received the Maharashtra State award for Best Screenplay for Ardhangi.

Ranjankar began his working life with a bank job and later worked as the librarian at the Mumbai Marathi Granth Sangrahalaya.

As an author, he had more than 50 books to his credit, including Bairagpada, Lawrence of Arabia, Alfred Hitchcock, and Walt Disney. Of the plays he wrote, the one that received acclaim was Garbh Shrimant.

Ranjankar also wrote articles and features as a journalist and a newspaper columnist for a long time.