Film director Esmayeel Shroff, who delivered a clutch of box-office winners such as ‘Thodisi Bewafaii’ and ‘Bulundi’ in the 1980s and who gave opportunities to a bunch of newcomers, notably Govinda (‘Love 86’) and Kunal Kapoor (‘Ahista Ahista’), passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday.

Shroff made his debut as a director with ‘Agar’ (1977), a suspense thriller starring Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab. The film flopped but Shroff ’s stock soared after he showcased his felicity in handling a variety of themes. ‘Thodisi Bewafaii’ (1980), a silver jubilee hit which he also wrote, was a conservative family social.

‘Bulundi’ (1981) displayed his flair for creating engrossing action drama. ‘Ahista Ahista’ was a sub-par critique of the Devdasi system, with elements of youthful romance. Nonetheless, the TOI wrote in its film review, “the director does display a rare grasp of the medium, knowing exactly when to cut away from a scene.”

Tinsel town was also impressed by Shroff’s ability to extract remarkably restrained performances from the flamboyant Raaj Kumar (‘Bulundi’) and the mannerism-ridden Rajesh Khanna (‘Thodisi Bewafaii’).

With the menace of video piracy taking centerstage, social films took a backseat in the latter half of the ’80s. Like many others, Shroff also changed tracks to blend with the times. He frequently collaborated with Raaj Kumar in action movies filledwith crowd-pleasing dialogues, notably ‘Surya’ (1989) and ‘Police Public’ (1990). He also directed the actor’s last release, ‘God And Gun’ (1995).

Confident of his craft, Shroff never hesitated to work with newcomers. ‘Thodisi Bewafaii’ was also the debut film of Sushant Ray, the grandson of the great V Shantaram. Ray was paired with Padmini Kolhapure, then in transition from a child artiste to a heroine. She also acted in ‘Ahista Ahista’ (1981), alongside debutant Kunal Kapoor.

‘Love 86’, released on Valentine’s Day, was the first release of Govinda although ‘Tan Badan’ was the first film he had signed up for. The actor’s first major hit, producer Pahlaj Nihalani’s ‘Ilzaam’, was released a few weeks after ‘Love 86’. Not many remember that Shroff directed two early Salman Khan movies: ‘Nischaiy’ (with Vinod Khanna, 1992) and ‘Yeh Majdhar’ (1996).

Shroff also had a keen ear for music and lyrics. His films were often enriched by Khayyam’s tender melodies that continue to be played on retro radio shows. Apart from the title track, ‘Thodisi Bewafaii’ (lyrics: Gulzar) had the irresistibly romantic number, ‘Aankhon mein humne aapke sapne sajaye hain’, the young ‘Mausam mausam lovely mausam’ and the wistful ‘Aaj bichhde hain’.

In ‘Ahista Ahista’, singer Bhupinder captured the melancholic strain of Nida Fazli’s couplet, ‘Kabhi kisi to mukammal jahan nahin milta/Kahin zameen to kahin aasman nahi milta’ (No one ever gets the whole world/ Sometimes you don’t get the earth, sometimes you don’tget the sky), which perfectly articulated the imperfect human condition of modern times. Bhupinder’s moody rendition was often used as background songs in Shroff films.

Veteran music director O P Nayyar made a comeback in two Shroff-directed films: ‘Nischaiy’ (1992) and ‘Zid’ (1994). In an interview to TOI in 1991, Nayyar said, “Esmayeel treated me like a king – with respect, without making me compromise on my price, although I was down and out. ” That tells us something about Shroff the man.