Filmmaker Ravi Tandon, father of actress Raveena, dies at 86

Producer-director Ravi Tandon died early today at his Mumbai home of respiratory failure. Known for his thrillers in the 1970s and 1980s, the veteran producer-director would have turned 87 next Thursday.

According to a Press Trust of India report, Tandon was suffering from lung fibrosis for the past few years.

Born in Agra in the United Provinces as it was then called on 17 February 1935, Ravi Tandon came from a family who usually ventured into medicine or law. His father was a high court judge, and Ravi thought of entering the medical field but couldn’t clear the exam.

“In college, I was quite good, thodi shakal bhi achchhi thi [I was also reasonably good-looking], so I used to do a few dramas. I thought let me try for the film industry,” the veteran filmmaker had told Cinestaan.com in a 2020 interview for his 85th birthday.

After he was selected for an all-university youth festival from Agra University, he decided to head to Bombay for a chance in the film industry. He began working as an extra in Filmistan Studios for Rs100 a month and stayed as a paying guest with Dharmendra and Salim Khan, who were also trying to break into films.

But after six months, he realized acting wasn’t for him. He then approached filmmaker RK Nayyar for an assistant's position, and soon he was his third assistant on Love In Simla (1960), produced by S Mukherjee.

He had said, “I was interested in working and RK Nayyar was happy with me and made me chief assistant in his next, Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke (1963).”

Manoj Kumar later recommended him for producer Arun Verma’s Balidan (1971) which featured him and Saira Banu. However, his directorial debut didn’t click as he had hoped.

It was the Sanjeev Kumar-starrer Anhonee (1973) that propelled him forward. “Luckily, when Anhonee was released, it was universally a hit. So that is my entry in the film industry,” he had recalled.

He went to helm films like Majboor (1974), Khel Khel Mein (1975), Jhoota Kahin Ka (1979), Khud-daar (1982) and Ek Main Aur Ek Tu (1986).

His daughter Raveena made her debut as an actress with Patthar Ke Phool (1991). “He taught me how to be self-made,” she had told Cinestaan.com separately. “I also always wanted to stand on my own two feet because if he came from Agra with nothing and made it all here on his own, I would want to do this on my own and that’s why I preferred to get movies on my own. I never expected him to launch me.”

She put up an emotional post on Instagram, stating, “You will always walk with me, I will always be you, I’m never letting go. Love you papa.” Several industry colleagues like Madhuri Dixit Nene, Juhi Chawla, Neelam, Shilpa Shetty, Namrata Shirodkar, Sonu Sood and Chunky Pandey sent their condolences to the family.

The filmmaker’s last rites were performed today by Raveena and her brother Rajiv. Raveena's husband, distributor Anil Thadani, and filmmaker Farah Khan were also present at the cremation.