Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a veteran Congressman, Abdul Rahman Antulay, widely known as A. R. Antulay, passed away on December 2. He also served as the Union Minister for Minority Affairs in the UPA-I government. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
Scientist A.R. Vasudeva Murthy passed away on January 12. Prof. Murthy was professor of inorganic and physical chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore, for several decades and his contributions include developing technology for the hydrothermal synthesis of quartz and other oxide materials. Photo: The Hindu Archives
Veteran actor Anjali Devi — who defied conventional film industry wisdom that married women cannot be leading stars on screen as early as the 1940s — died on January 13. She acted in over 350 films in a career of over five decades and was one of the earliest stars of the black and white era in South India. The actor was known for her bold portrayals and held her own in both glamorous roles. Photo: The Hindu Archives
Filmmaker Anjan Das, who had won two national awards, breathed his last on JUne 2. The director in his 60s, best known for his films like Shaanjhbatir Rupkathara (strokes and silhouettes) and Jara Brishtite Bhijechilo (those drenched in rain), had been battling liver cancer. Photo: Special Arrangement
Legendary Telugu film actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who stole the hearts of millions of fans across the world, breathed his last in the early hours of January 22. the first-generation actor’s 75 year-old career comprised 256 films across social, romantic and mythological genres. He started his acting career with theatre but soon switched over to silver screen and made his film debut in 1941 with Dharmapatni, interestingly playing female role. Photo: H. Sathis
Sultan Azlan Shah, President, Asian Hockey Federation, passed away at Ipoh (Malaysia) on May 29. A hockey enthusiast since his student days, Azlan Shah steered the administration of the sport in Malaysia for 21 years. Photo: Special Arrangement
World renowned yoga exponent B.K.S. Iyengar passed away in Pune on August 20. He codified Patanjali’s yoga sutras in an innovatively dynamic yoga style which came to be known as Iyengar Yoga, winning millions of followers in more than 70 countries of the globe in the process. Photo: Sampath Kumar G. P
Popularly referred to in the Tamil film industry as ‘Iyakunar Sigaram,’ K. Balachander passed away on December 23. KB received the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest recognition for excellence in cinema in the country, in 2010. The veteran filmmaker has directed over 100 films and is revered for being a talent-spotter both among artistes and technicians. Photo: K. Pichumani
S. Balasubramanian, the chairman of the Vikatan group of publications, died on December 20. Mr. Balasubramanian made many revolutionary changes in the content of Ananda Vikatan and persuaded Tamil writer Jayakanthan to contribute to Vikatan. Junior Vikatan, a pioneer in the field of investigative journalism, is his brainchild. He also introduced a scheme to identify talent among college students in Tamil Nadu. Photo: K. Pichumani
Award winning film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra, whose masterpieces such as ‘Azhiyatha Kolangal’, ‘Moondram Pirai’, ‘Veedu’, ‘Sandhiyaa Raagam’ and ‘Vanna Vanna Pookal’ left an indelible mark on the Indian film industry, died on Februrary 13. Photo: S. S. Kumar
Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman died on March 01. He was appointed as the president of BJP in August 2000 but his term was abruptly cut short eight months later as he was involved in a case of bribery that was exposed by news portal Tehelka. He was the first leader of Scheduled Castes to head the BJP. Photo: Singam Venkataramana
Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana, popularly known as ‘Bapu’, the legendary director who is credited with bringing Telugu films out of the studios passed away on August 31. He is famous for having shot from locations from his very first film Sakshi in 1967. Photo: Special Arrangement
Eminent `Modern India’ historian Bipan Chandra died on August 30. He left behind an unfinished work on Bhagat Singh and an ``army of students’’ of varied ideological persuasions mourning the end of their animated discussions. Photo: V. Sudershan
Award-winning musician, singer and composer Chakri, nee Chakradhar Gilla died on December 15. Chakri debuted with director Puri Jagannadh’s ‘Bachi’ in the year 2000 and went on to compose music for about 85 films thus far. Photo: Mohd. Arif
D.V. Subba Rao, legal luminary, former Visakhapatnam Mayor and Andhra Cricket Association president passed away on December 20. He had created a record when he was elected twice as Chairman of the Bar Council of India from a mofussil centre like Visakhapatnam. Photo: K. R. Deepak
Veteran character actor and director Deven Verma, who graced Bollywood for four decades with endearing roles in classic domestic comedies, died on December 2. Producer B.R. Chopra, who spotted Verma in a stage play, picked him for Dharmputra in 1961. While Mr. Verma’s first comic role came in Gumraah in 1963, playing Ashok Kumar’s servant, the decade saw him being cast in some of Bollywood’s finest dramatic films. Photo: Special Arrangement
Dick Smith, the ‘Godfather of make-up’ who amused, fascinated and terrified moviegoers by devising unforgettable transformations, for Marlon Brando in The Godfather (in picture) and Linda Blair in The Exorcist died on , among many others, has died on August 1. Smith was the first make-up artist to win an Oscar for lifetime achievement. Photo: Special Arrangement
Noted club cricketer and founder of the iconic Delhi Gymkhana Club, Dilbagh Singh breathed his last on August 19. Dilbagh played first-class cricket for Jammu and Kashmir and was also a former Delhi selector. Photo: Special Arrangement
England football great Sir Tom Finney died on Februrary 15. Finney, a winger who could play in several positions across the forward line, was famously loyal to his hometown side in Lancashire, north-west England. Finney made his debut for North End in 1946 and remained with the club until his retirement in 1960, scoring 210 goals in 473 appearances. His England record was equally impressive; he scored 30 goals in 76 matches. Photo: AP
The former Attorney-General of India G.E. Vahanvati died in Mumbai on September 2 following a heart attack. Mr. Vahanvati was appointed as the 13th AG from June 2009 for a three-year term. Photo: R. V. Moorthy
G. Venkatswamy, senior-most Congress leader from undivided Andhra Pradesh, died on December 22. Venkatswamy who is popularly known as “Kaka” in his five-decade long political career held several important positions in the Congress as its working committee member, Union Minister, State party president and member of several Parliamentary standing committees. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times. Photo: P. V. Sivakumar
Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who passed away on April 18, crafted intoxicating fiction from the fatalism, fantasy, cruelty and heroics of the world that set his mind churning as a child growing up on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. One of the most revered and influential writers of his generation, he brought Latin America’s charm and maddening contradictions to life in the minds of millions. Photo: Reuters
Gobind Ram Nirmalkar, renowned guru of Chhattisgarh’s Nacha folk theatre, passed away on July 27. A 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, he was a celebrated actor who spent a large part of his career as a member of Habib Tanvir’s Naya Theatre. Photo: Sandeep Saxena
Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde was on his way to the Delhi airport on June 3 was killed in a road accident. The 64-year BJP leader from the OBC Vanzari community was among the party’s strongest mass leaders in Maharashtra and was expected to lead the party in the state assembly polls in October. Photo: Sandeep Saxena
Granville Austin, renowned scholar of the Indian constitution and constitutional assembly debates, has died in Washington on July 7. Prof. Austin leaves behind him a treasured legacy of scholarly analysis on the Indian constitution, which he described as, “first and foremost a social document”. Photo: Special Arrangement
ormer Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Jarbom Gamlin died on December 1. On May 5, 2011, Mr. Gamlin became the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh after the death of Dorjee Khandu in a chopper accident. His six-month-long chief ministerial tenure came to an end on October 31, 2011, after he resigned from the post following political upheaval in the State. Photo: Kamal Narang
The former Chief Secretary, V. Karthikeyan died on December 4. The former Union Minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, is one of his daughters-in-laws. Belonging to the 1948 batch, he served as Collector of the composite Thanjavur district during 1956-58. He held the post of Chief Secretary twice: March 1976 to February 1977 and from June 1977 to August 1981. Photo: The Hindu Archives
Writer, historian and columnist Khushwant Singh died on March 20. Known to be a connoisseur of Urdu poetry, Mr. Singh spent a lot of time reading noted poet Ghalib’s works and would recite his couplets. As for his humour, it lives on through his writings. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Master storyteller and veteran dramatist Koothapiran, fondly known as ‘Vanoli Anna’, died on December 23. Koothapiran was the voice behind the programme Siruvar Solai, for over 30 years. He also gained popularity as a cricket commentator in Tamil. Photo: R. M. Rajarathinam
A veteran football referee, an authority on the laws of the game and one who served the FIFA panel for over a decade in the 1950s, L.R. Natarajan passed away on May 22. ‘LRN’, as he was popularly known in football circles, was a player initially, a goalkeeper for the first division team Madras Recreation Club before he chose to become a referee. Photo: K. Gajendran
Leaving behind his legacy, 90-year-old freedom fighter Vemula Lakshmi Narasaiah, who presided over Yadagirigutta temple almost half of his life as a sarpanch, passed away on June 6. Vemula Lakshmi Narasaiah had served for 42 years until the post was reserved for a BC woman. Photo: Special Arrangement
M.C. Sampath, retired Senior Associate Editor of The Hindu, passed away on December 20. He retired from The Hindu in 2012 after serving the newspaper for 50 years, not counting the five years during which he was the part-time correspondent in Chengalpattu. Photo: V. Ganesan
Former Minister and Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader M.V. Raghavan died on December 9. He had served as Minister in the United Democratic Front government in 1991 and 2001. Photo: S. K. Mohan
Former International cricket umpire M.I. Mohd. Ghouse passed away on Septemeber 29. A BCCI Test and ODI panel umpire, he officiated in eight Test matches and two One-Day Internationals. Ghouse also served as the chairman of the umpires’ sub-committees of the TNCA. Photo: Special Arrangement
Veteran journalist M.V. Kamath passed away in Manipal, Karnataka, on October 9. Mr. Kamath was known for his integrity as a journalist and his courage to call a spade a spade. He worked as the Washington correspondent for The Times of India during 1969-78 and as Editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India from 1978 to 1981. He also served as foreign correspondent in Bonn and Paris. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu
Film director Madhu Kaithapram passed away on December 29. Madhu Kaithapram had won the National film award for the best debutante director for Ekantham in 2006. His other noted films include Madhyavenal, Ormamathram, and Vellivelicham . Photo: Special Arrangement
Child prodigy-turned master musician Mandolin U. Shrinivas passed away on September 19. He made his first public concert at the age of 8 in 1978. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2010. Photo: R. Ravindran
TIRUPATI, ANDHRA PRADESH, 15-12-2014: Tirupati MLA Mannuru Venkatramana passed away at Apollo Hospital, Chennai, on Monday, December 15, 2014. He was 67. Photo: KV. Poornachandra Kumar
Social worker and women’s rights activist, May George, passed away on January 25. Ms. George was the first woman engineer from the Madras province and worked with the State housing board to come up with low-cost housing solutions. Photo: The Hindu Archives
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Murli Deora passed away on November 24. Mr. Deora, who held several important portfolios during his decades-long career, first contested the civic elections in Mumbai in 1975. he Congress veteran had also served as the Mumbai Congress President for 22 years. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty
N. Mahalingam, Chairman of the Coimbatore-based Sakthi Group of Companies, passed away on October 2. Mr. Mahalingam had been organising the Gandhi Vallalar Vizha for the last 49 years. Photo: K. Ananthan
Nabarun Bhattacharya, the 66-year-old Bengali writer, who achieved a cult status in his lifetime in Bengal, passed away on August 1. Nabarun Bhattacharya was often described a ‘magic realist’ and compared with Russian anti-establishment writer of 20th century, Mikhail Bulgakov. Photo: Sumit Das.
Veteran carnatic vocalist Sangita Kalanidhi Nedunuri Krishnamurthy passed away on December 2. Nedunuri's style was the epitome of elegance with an emphasis on aesthetics and subtle embellishments. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Veteran Congress leader Parasram Maderna, considered a strong pillar of Jat politics in Rajasthan, died on February 16. A nine-time MLA, Mr. Maderna was a Minister several times and was the Speaker of the State Assembly between 1999 and 2004. Photo: Special Arrangement
Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died on November 27, after the international batsman was struck on the head by a ball during a domestic match. The Australian flag was lowered to half-mast over the Sydney Cricket Ground where Hughes suffered the horrific injury. Hughes had played 26 tests and 25 one-day internationals. Photo: Reuters
Creator of the lovable comic character Chacha Chaudhary, cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma breathed his last on August 6. With a career spanning over five decades, Mr. Sharma employed a simple style of art and sense of humour to create a family of characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman and Channi Chachi, which are regularly published in Indian magazines. Photo: Special Arrangement
Tamil writer Rajam Krishnan, who won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1973 for her novel Verukku Neer, died on October 21. Journalist and writer Maalan said Rajam Krishnan set a new trend in Tamil literature by undertaking extensive fieldwork before writing her novels. Photo: M. Prabhu
Popular film director and producer Ramanarayanan, who directed a record-breaking 125 movies in nine Indian languages in a career spanning 36 years, died on June 22. The prolific filmmaker made a name for himself making small-budget films, predominantly on devotional themes or stories in which animals played central roles. Photo: Special Arrangement
Veteran film and TV director Ravi Chopra, best known for his Amitabh Bachchan starrer family drama ‘Baghbaan’ and TV series ‘Mahabharat’, died on November 11. His biggest success came from the TV adaptation of ’Mahabharat’, which continues to have a following even today. Photo: PTI
Oscar Winning veteran actor Robin Williams was found dead on August 11. The apparent cause of the death was suicide. Williams, dubbed as “the funniest man alive” by Entertainment Weekly in 1997, brought audiences hours of laughter, putting his imaginative spin on characters in film and television. Photo: AP
Tamil film director C. Rudhraiah, who took inspiration from the French New Wave Film Makers, and made two remarkable films—Aval Appadithan and Gramathu Athiyayam—died on November 18. Though a trailblazer and all the songs of his films were hits, Rudhraiya could not make a come back after the failure of 'Gramathu Athiyayam'. Photo: Special Arrangement
Veteran actor and social activist Sadashiv Amrapurkar, passed away on November 3. Amrapurkar made his mark as an actor and director in Marathi theatre and was best known to the national audience for his roles in movies like 'Ardha Satya', 'Sadak', 'Ishq'. Photo: PTI
Kathak queen Sitara Devi died on November 25. Over the next six decades, she became a Kathak legend and was a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood. She was honoured with the Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 for her contribution to the classical dance genre for over six decades. Photo: S. Subramanium
Popular Tollywood character actress Telangana Shakuntala passed away on June 13. Popularly known as "Swarnakka" in Tamil filmdom as she portrayed a villainous role in that name in the Vikram-starrer "Dhool", she acted in more than 70 films. Photo: Special Arrangement
The doyen of Carnatic music, vocalist R.K. Srikantan passed away on Februrary 17. The senior-most performing musician of the State, and undeniably a follower of chaste paddhati or tradition, he took up nearly 75 concerts and lec-dems even in 2013 made him the busiest nonagenarian musician. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Legendary Bengali actor Suchitra Sen breathed her last on January 17. Sen acted in over 50 movies between 1952 and 1978 of which six were in Hindi and was the leading lady of Tollywood for more than 2 decades. Photo: The Hindu Archives
South Indian Urdu novelist Sulekha Hussain passed away on July 15. Sulekha penned 27 novels and many short stories, all in Urdu. Some of her novels, Rah Akeli, Dishvar Huva Jeena, Ek Khyab Hakhikhath, and Marla he Kali were widely read in several North Indian cities. Photo: Special Arrangement
Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of former Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, was found dead on January 17 days after she took on Pakistani journalist Mehr Trar accusing her of having relationship with Mr. Tharoor. Photo: PTI
Tamil cinema’s veteran actor S. S. Rajendran, popularly known as SSR, who had worked with the former Chief Minister, M.G. Ramachandran, thespian Sivaji Ganesan, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa, died on October 24. SSR had entered the film world as a playback singer, in the music of G. Ramanathan, because he was considered too young for villain by Modern Theatres Sundaram. Photo: K. Pichumani
Tapan Raychaudhuri, a distinguished historian of modern India’s economic and intellectual history, passed away at his home in Oxford on November 26. Among his many publications are Bengal Under Akbar and Jahangir (1969), Jan Company in Coromandel (1962), Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in Nineteenth Century Bengal (1988), and The Cambridge Economic History of India (co-edited with Irfan Habib). Photo: K. Murali Kumar
Tamil writer and literary critic, who encouraged generations of writers, T. G. Sivasankaran, popularly known as Ti. Ka. Si in the literary world, died on March 25. A member of the undivided Communist party, Ti. Ka. Si edited Thamarai, the literary magazine of the Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumandram. Photo: Special Arrangement
Kannada writer and one of the most acclaimed public intellectuals in the country, U.R. Ananthamurthy passed away on August 22. He had always been a critic of Hindutva politics and had incurred the wrath of the supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election for stating that he would not wish to live in a country with Mr. Modi at the helm. Photo: K. Gopinathan
Arjuna award winning volleyball played K. Udayakumar died on September 19. A member of the bronze medal winning team at the Seoul Olympics Olympics in 1986, he was honoured with the Arjuna award in 1991. Photo: H. Vibhu
Veteran Communist leader and former member of the CPI(M)'s Polit Bureau R. Umanath died on May 21. He was elected twice to the Lok Sabha from the Pudukottai constituency and twice to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from the Nagapattinam constituency. Photo: R. Ashok
Eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, passed away on December 4. Justice Iyer, known for his forthright views, turned 100 recently. He was sworn in as the judge of the Supreme Court on July 17, 1973 and retired at the age of 65 on November14, 1980. Photo: Special Arrangement
Veenapani Chawla, acclaimed theatre personality and founder of the Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts and Research near Auroville, passed away on November 30. Winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for her contribution to Indian theatre as a director, Chawla was considered a pioneer of experimental theatre in India. Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash
Maria von Trapp, the last surviving member and second-eldest daughter of the musical family whose escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for “The Sound of Music,” has died on February 19. Maria von Trapp was the last surviving member of the seven original Trapp Family Singers made famous in “The Sound of Music.” Photo: Reuters
Zohra Sehgal, a quintessential Bollywood diva who essayed character roles with aplomb in a career spanning over seven decades in both theatre and cinema died on July 10. Sehgal started her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935 and was often called the grand old lady of Bollywood. Photo: S. Subramanium
