Veteran film and television writer Brij Katyal, best
known for penning Shashi Kapoor-Nanda starrer, Jab Jab Phool Khile, and Neena
Gupta-Kawaljit’s famous TV show, Saans, passed away on Thursday afternoon.
Katyal spent his last few days at a hospice in Bandra.
Reportedly, the veteran was suffering from rectal cancer
and was being taken care of at Shanti Avedana Ashram. He was 85. An
accomplished writer, Katyal worked closely with Neena Gupta on her TV
directorials Saans and Pal Chhin. Neena was by his side during his difficult
battle with cancer.
A few days back Neena had shared a message, with a
picture of Katyal, on Instgram. “A free of charge hospice called shanti avedna
sadan at mountmary thank u for looking after my writer friend brij katyal who
wrote saaans for me a beautiful human being but see inspite of seeing so many
movies and listening to wise words that don't give everything away to anyone
before u die we do the same mistakes and then suffer . Lecture nahin hai samne
ki sachchai hai,” read Neena’s heartrending post.
Remembering the veteran writer fondly, writer-director
Anusha Srinivasan Iyer told IANS, “Brijji was all of sixteen even as an
octogenarian. His energy was infectious. I took my baby steps into writing
assisting him in penning his scripts. He was always wanting me to direct,
finding producers for me. When my short film 'Saare Sapne Apne Hain' travelled
to 53 festivals, he was happier than me."
Katyal also has films like Ajooba and Yeh Raat Phir Na
Aayegi, among others, to his credit. He is survived by an adopted son.
Image Source: amarujala