Shillong: Renowned filmmaker, poet, and activist Tarun Bhartiya passed away in Shillong, Meghalaya, on Saturday after suffering a heart attack.
54-year-old Bhartiya was quickly taken to Woodland Hospital, where he was declared dead.
He is survived by his wife, Angela Rangad, and their three children—a daughter and two sons.
Family sources have confirmed that his cremation will take place in Shillong on Monday, with relatives from Patna expected to attend the ceremony.
A prominent figure in both the artistic and social justice spheres, Bhartiya made remarkable contributions to the worlds of film, poetry, photography, and human rights.
His work garnered widespread acclaim and earned him several prestigious awards throughout his career.
Bhartiya was a gifted poet, with a significant body of work in Hindi, and his impactful documentaries brought attention to critical environmental and human rights issues.
His black-and-white photography, often depicting the heart and soul of Meghalaya, also received great recognition.
In 2009, Bhartiya was honoured with the esteemed National Film Award for editing the non-fiction film In Camera: Diaries of a Documentary Cameraman.
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However, he attracted national attention in 2015 when he returned the Rajat Kamal Award to then-President Pranab Mukherjee in protest against the rising tide of hatred and intolerance in the country.
In more recent years, Bhartiya played a vital role in establishing Shillong Humanists, a group focused on promoting critical thought and intellectual discourse within the community.
His sudden passing has created a void in Shillong’s creative and activist circles, marking the loss of a visionary who devoted his life to both art and social justice.
