Sagar Sarhadi, writer of Kabhi Kabhie, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, dies at 87

Screenwriter and filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi died yesterday at his residence in Sion, Mumbai. He was 87.

His nephew, filmmaker Ramesh Talwar, told the Press Trust of India news agency, “He passed away shortly before midnight. He wasn’t keeping well for some time and had even stopped eating. He passed away peacefully.”

Sarhadi is best known as the writer of the iconic Yash Chopra films Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Silsila (1981). He also wrote popular features such as Anubhav (1971), Doosra Aadmi (1977), Chandni (1989), Deewana (1992) and Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000).

Sarhadi made his own directorial debut with Bazaar (1982), starring Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Farooq Shaikh. He went on to helm Agla Mausam (1989), which starred Supriya Pathak and Pankaj Kapur.

His last directorial foray, Chausar (2013), was Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s first film as the main lead. The film, which also starred Amruta Subhash, has not been released yet although it has been screened at some festivals.

In recent years, Sarhadi was seen regularly as a chief guest or judge at drama festivals in Mumbai.

Born Ganga Sagar Talwar near Abbottabad, now in Pakistan, on 11 May 1933, the filmmaker adopted the surname Sarhadi to establish a connection with the province of his birth.

Correction, 29 March 2021: An earlier version of the report cited Sarhadi's age as 88 and misspelt the film title Kabhi Kabhie as Kabhie Kabhie.