He was more than family to her. Manisha Koirala treated cinematographer Ashok Mehta as her mentor, guide and philosopher from the time she came to Mumbai to be an actress. In fact, Manisha emotionally attributes all the right moves in her career to Ashok Mehta and all the blunders to herself. No wonder she cancelled the sit-in dinner at her home for her 42nd birthday on Wednesday night, personally calling up all the guests to say a party at a time when she had lost someone so precious, was impossible.

When Aparna Sen started her career as a filmmaker with the exquisite 36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981 she teamed up with cinematographer Ashok Mehta for the first time. They went on to work on two of Ms Sen’s most celebrated works. On hearing of Mehta’s death Aparna Sen says she’s shattered. “The last time I met him was at the Mumbai premiere of my film The Japanese Wife. I can’t believe he’s gone! I didn’t even know he was suffering from lung cancer.But then I am not really that close to Mumbai. I should have kept in touch.