Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; July 20, 2020)

Filmmaker Rajat Mukherjee, known for films like Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001) and Road (2002), died on Sunday morning in Jaipur, due to multiple health issues. Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who had worked with him in Road, broke the news on social media. Members of the film fraternity, including actor Vivek Anand Oberoi and filmmakers Anubhav Sinha and Hansal Mehta paid tributes to him on social media. Rajat, who was a renowned ad filmmaker, was in his late fifties. Talking to BT, Urmila Matondkar, who worked with him in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and Manoj shared fond memories of working with the filmmaker.

MANOJ BAJPAYEE: HE WAS A GIFTED DIRECTOR, AND I FEEL SAD THAT HIS CAREER IN FEATURE FILMS WAS NOT A LONG ONE
My wife Neha was the bridge between Rajat and me. I got to know him through her as they had worked on some corporate ad films. Gradually, Rajat and I became friends and would often visit each other. I worked with him in Road, which is counted among my best works. He was gifted as a director. I feel sad that his career in feature films was not a long one, although it could have been, given the kind of work he had done, right from his first film. In fact, I had helped him to reach out to producers, but somehow, things didn’t materialise. But we never lost touch with each other. He had not been well in the past two-three years. I was aware of his health problems and I was always there for him. I lost my friend. His absence will always be felt.

URMILA MATONDKAR: I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER RAJAT AS A PASSIONATE FILMMAKER
I feel terrible that we had not been in touch for some time now. He could light up a room with his presence. Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya was his first film. My character in the film was path-breaking for an actress. Rajat and I shared great camaraderie as colleagues, which is reflected in the way the film has been shot and presented. I had also seen him help Fardeen Khan emulate his character brilliantly. I will remember Rajat as a passionate filmmaker. He belonged to the world of ad films, so his style of narrating a story had a lot to do with his prior experiences. It took me a while to register that I won’t have a chance to talk to him again.
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Manoj Bajpayee, Urmila Matondkar and other industry friends remember writer-director
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 20, 2020)

Producer Anish Ranjan, informed that Rajat Mukherjee had gone to Jaipur in March to spend Holi with his family and was stuck there after the Coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown was announced. He developed breathing trouble over a month ago and had gone for a Covid-19 test. That’s when the doctors detected his “sodium-potassium levels” were imbalanced.

Manoj Bajpayee, who starred in his Road and had been friends with Rajat for 22 years, recalled him coming to Delhi from Jaipur and collaborating with his wife Shabana on some ads. They had stayed in touch even after the writer-director had fallen ill. “He was a fan of Clint Eastwood and Westerns and would make me watch the films he loved,” he shared.

Urmila Matondkar, who played the obsessed Rhea in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, remembers him as an extremely talented director, passionate about his work. “He was a livewire and a great cook. His vision and belief in a character like Rhea helped me translate it on camera. Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya remains a gem of a film that was ahead of its times.”

Producer Savita Raj Hiremath shared that like many in the capital’s advertising circle, Rajat wanted to make films and after Satya, moved to Mumbai and joined Ram Gopal Varma. “He introduced Jaideep Sahni to RGV and Company was written. I followed them and asked Jaideep to write a film for me and Khosla Ka Ghosla happened. Rajat was instrumental in inspiring all of us to move to Mumbai. He met me a few months ago, and was excited to do a project with me,” she says, ruing that they will never collaborate now.