Prashant Bhargava, a deeply humane filmmaker and artist perhaps best known for the 2011 film Patang (The Kite), died on Friday of cardiac arrest in New York. He was 42.
His sister Anurima Bhargava confirmed the news on Tuesday.
A native of the South Side of Chicago, Bhargava studied computer science at Cornell University and worked in music videos and commercials for most of his career, creating promotional spots for HBO shows such as The Wire, OZ and Rome.
Patang, Bhargava’s only narrative feature, followed six stories in Ahmedabad, India, during the country’s largest kite festival. It premiered at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.
In his four star review of Patang, the late film critic Roger Ebert called it joyous and lovely.
