MUMBAI: Writers are a much-in-demand breed. Good scriptwriters even more so. Almost every studio head would give an arm and a leg to get a brilliant one on board.

And imagine what one would feel when we lose one of them. Just ask Amar Chitra Katha CEO & president Preeti Vyas and she will tell you it bites deep, it hurts so much. Her studio has just lost Kamala Chandrakant - a feisty writer of the seventies, eighties and nineties.

Said Preeti in a tribute to the powerhouse of a teller of stories many of us have grown up reading:

“We are deeply saddened by the passing away of Kamala Chandrakant, the first woman scriptwriter of Amar Chitra Katha, on 9  Feb, 2025. She was 84. None of us in the present team have worked with Kamala but her stories are legendary.” 

“Known to be a courageous woman, who thought way ahead of her times, we've heard of the many spirited arguments she had with Uncle Pai on why women heroes deserved more space in the comics. She was the scriptwriter for most of the Mahabharata series and for hundreds of other titles.

“Kamala will always be remembered with awe, respect and affection by our team.”

RIP Kamala! Your stories will continue to educate generations to come!

(B&W Picture of Kamala Chandrakant courtesy Preeti Vyas; Kamala has passed on even as the ScreenWrters Association is set to kick off its annual confab on 14 February in Mumbai )