Bollywood producer G P Sippy dies

Veteran Bollywood producer-director G P Sippy, who had become a household name with his 1975 blockbuster Sholay, died in Mumbai on Tuesday night after prolonged illness, family sources said.

Sippy, 93, who has been suffering from age-related ailments for the past few months, breathed his last at around 10 pm. He was cremated at 11.45 am today at the electric crematorium in Chandanwadi, Marine Lines, in South Mumbai. His family and relatives were present at the funeral.

A scion of a rich Sindhi family, Sippy's career got a flying start with the film Marine Drive (1955). The same year he produced Adl-e-e-Jahangir with the star-cast of Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari and Durga Khote.

The fifties and sixties was a time of hectic filmmaking for Sippy, when his banner produced memorable flicks like Shrimati 420, Chandrakant, Light House, Bhai Behan and Andaaz. It stands to his credit that G P Sippy, besides producing, also directed all of these films.

In 1972, Sippy, along with son Ramesh made Seeta aur Gita with Hema Malini in a double role. The star cast included big names like Dharmendera and Sanjeev Kumar.

The magnum opus of the Sippys, however, was to be Sholay (1975), with a star cast of Dharmendera, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan.

Sippy also produced films like Saagar (1985), Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992), Aatish (1992), Zamaana Deewana (1995).

Sippy was the chairman of the Film and TV Producers Guild of India on four occasions in the seventies, eighties and nineties. He also bagged the Filmfare awards in 1968 and 1982.