Aruna Vasudev, NETPAC Founder and Asian Cinema Champion, Dies at 88

Aruna Vasudev, founder of publication Cinemaya and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), died on Thursday of multiple age-related ailments in New Delhi, India. She was 88.

Vasudev was a key figure in promoting Asian cinema on the global stage. In 1988, she launched Cinemaya, the first pan-Asian film quarterly, which ran for two decades. The publication became a vital resource for information on Asian films and filmmakers.

In 1991, Vasudev established NETPAC, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian cinema. NETPAC introduced awards for Asian films at international festivals and organized the Cinefan festival in New Delhi.

Vasudev served on juries at numerous international film festivals, including Cannes, Locarno and Karlovy Vary. She authored several books on Asian cinema, including “The New Indian Cinema” and “Being & Becoming: The Cinemas of Asia.”

Her work saw her appointed Cavaliere della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana in 2004 and honored with France’s Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2019.

Supriya Suri’s documentary “Aruna Vasudev: Mother of Asian Cinema” is an exploration of Vasudev’s journey, highlighting her impact on the film world and her passion for cinema from across Asia.

“We are all orphans of our ‘Mother of Asian Cinema,’ as we all affectionately called her,” said Martine and Jean-Marc Thérouanne, directors and co-founders of the Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul.

Actor Shabani Azmi posted on Instagram: “She was the pioneer for making Asian films a genre to be talked about as a separate identity of its own. There are many laurels to her credit but I will always remember her for her warmth and radiant smile . Her observations were always insightful and I enjoyed being with her a lot. My condolences to her family.”

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur responded to Azmi’s post, saying: “That is so sad. Aruna was an icon indeed .. so passionate about cinema .. so passionate about the place of Indian cinema in the rest of the word . She will be missed RIP.”