Noted Bollywood cinematographer Ashok Mehta has passed away on Thursday due to lung cancer at a private hospital in Mumbai. He was 66. Bollywood town mourned the sudden demise of Ashok Mehta. It is known that Ashok Mehta received critical acclaim for his extra ordinary  cinematography in the flicks, Gaja Gaminin and Bandit Queen. The director of Bandit Queen, Shekar Kapur has expressed his grief over the death of Ashok Mehta. He even tweeted on this. This was his tweet: “RIP Ashok Mehta. With Respect Lover Admiration n Pain.”

The outstanding film makes, Shyam Benegal said Ashok Mehta became a professional cinematographer overnight and recalled how he met him when Mehta was involved in documentaries way back in 1967. Shyam Benegal said Ashok Mehta was just a cameraman helper and used to carry the camera equipments from one place to another. And when the cameraman of the documentary fgell sick due to malaria, Ashok Mehta-for the first time-handled the camera. That's how he became a cinematographer, said Shyam Benegal.

Ashok Mehta was born in Afghanistan in 1946. During Mehta's childhood, his family moved down to Delhi and Ashok Mehta sold boiled eggs on the street before he got the opportunity to be a cameraman helper. Mehta is survived by a son and his wife, Neeraja.

(AW Phani)