Noted satirist K P Saxena passes away

Padma Shri awardee K P Saxena succumbed to a cardiac arrest in Lucknow on Thursday morning. The 81-year-old satirist was suffering from cancer for the past one-and-a-half years.
Known for his unique style, the prolific writer whose work spanned for more than five decades, had also penned dialogues for a few Bollywood films including 'Lagaan' (2001), 'Swades' (2004), 'Hulchul' (2004), and 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2008), which got him a Filmfare nomination.
Reacting to the tragic news, Ashutosh Gowariker, who has worked with Saxena in three films, said, “ In K P saab, we have lost one of the greatest writers. He was a great satirist and had an unusual sense of humour. He was a keen observer of people and it poignantly reflected in his work. I grew up watching him in Haasya Sammelan on Doordarshan.”
The two first worked together in Lagaan and talking about his experience, Gowarikar said, “I remember that he would write at a stretch for 12-14 hours a day, for a month to finish the script and then he will take another month to revise it. I would insist that he read out the script to me so that I could grasp his dialogue deliveries and pronunciations and attitudes. He came up with lines that summarised the scenes and characterisations beautifully.”