S Ramanathan passes away; leaves his unreleased film Zamaanat behind

Marking the first death of the year in filmdom, acclaimed director S Ramanathan who brought Amitabh Bachchan into the limelight with Bombay to Goa, passed away in Chennai yesterday. It is said that Ramanathan was listening to music when he just collapsed and passed away. It was a case of cardiac failure. Ramanathan shared a special bond with Amitabh Bachchan. He made three films with him namely Geraftaar, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati and Mahaan with the actor. Bachchan was also starring in his last vehicle Zamaanat that was in the making for more than a decade. He was planning to release the film this year. The other actor with whom the reputed Kannada director was associated with was Mehmood with whom he made Sabse Bada Rupaiya, Do Phool and Bombay To Goa and Faisla. Ramanathan started his career with theatre in Bangalore and spent most of his early days in the city. He later shifted to Madras, now known as Chennai, mainly because in the late 1950s and early 1960s the city was known for its film activities. Initially, he worked as an assistant to the then well-known director A. Bhim Singh and later turned director with the Malayalam film Naadodikal and followed it up with films like Shreekovil and Devaalayam. After the success of Bhim Singh's Tamil film Madras To Pondicherry,Ramanathan decided to remake it in Hindi and moved to Mumbai. He titled the film Bombay to Goa for which he roped in then struggling actor Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. The film became a hit and marked his long relationship with the super star. Ramanathan had also the honour of working with legendary artistes like Raj Kumar, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vishnuvardhan and Shivaraj Kumar in multiple languages.