'Disco Dancer' Filmmaker B Subhash's Wife Hospitalised, Family Appeals for Funds

B Subhash's Disco Dancer was one of the biggest hits in Bollywood in the 1980s.

Mithun Chakraborty with B Subhash (L). A still from Disco Dancer (R).

(Photos Courtesy: Twitter)

Tilottimma, the 67-year-old wife of the film producer-director-writer, B Subhash whose musical Disco Dancer starring Mithun Chakraborty was one of the biggest Bollywood super-hits ever, is battling between life and death for an intestinal lung disease at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.

According to an appeal for a fundraiser posted online by her daughter Swetha, the family has done all it can to collect the amount of Rs 30 lakhs required for the medical expenses. She has requested for contributions online on Ketto towards her mother's treatment, stating “each contribution is important.”

Within a few hours of the post, Rs 13,500 had been raised.

When Quint contacted B Subhash (age 76), he confirmed this, emphasising that the family currently finds itself in dire circumstances. Before the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, he had inked a contract with a Hollywood production company to remake Disco Dancer with a cast of newcomers in Los Angeles. “But after the pandemic, the project was dropped, leaving me nowhere,” he stated.

B Subhash with Mithun Chakraborty and team at the mahurat of Disco Dancer.

Incidentally, keeping in mind the spiralling inflation over the years, Disco Dancer (1982) headlining Mithun and Rajesh Khanna in a guest appearance with a chart busting score by Bappi Lahiri - had toted higher collections than Sholay, only to be outranked subsequently by Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). A cult film, Disco Dancer, had become a craze among the youth audience of the Soviet Union.

In all, B Subhash has made 18 films, of which Disco Dancer, Kasam Paida Kare Wale Ki (1984), Adventures of Tarzan (1985), Aandhi Toofan (1985), and Dance Dance (1987) had made waves at the box office. The rest had largely performed disappointingly at the cash counters.

Subhash stated that his wife had been on dialysis for a kidney ailment since the last five years. “Things got complicated, and although she returned home, her condition has deteriorated drastically,” he elaborated. “The family is trying to do its utmost in the circumstances but we find ourselves helpless.”

A veteran producer on the condition of anonymity, asked, “Don’t producer and director associations of Bollywood have a support system? They should automatically insure the families with regular membership fees. There should be a proof cell in the associations for such emergencies to save lives. I am sure there are some reserved funds, and it’s vital for all of us to help out a filmmaker who has given his life to the film industry.”

On being quizzed about this aspect, Subhash responded, “I don’t think it would be practical to approach any association right now. At most, they would be able to give us a meagre sum only. That is why my daughter has appealed for contributions online.”

Concluding ruefully, Subhash said, “It was always my dream to make a film in Hollywood. Now one can’t dream anymore. Family comes above all.”