GUWAHATI, March 24 -- Ace Bollywood director Pradeep Sarkar died in the early hours of Friday in Mumbai.

He was 68 and had been ailing for several years.

The filmmaker was rushed to a hospital at 3 am early Friday morning after his condition got worse.

The 67-year-old will be cremated at Mumbai's Santacruz crematorium on Friday ay 4 pm.

Sarkar turned to direction at the age of 50, after a fruitful career making advertising commercials.

Sarkar gave several hit movies, most significantly his women centric movies like Parineeta (2005) and Mardaani (2014).

Parineeta, his directorial debut drew on his Bengali heritage.

The period drama, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novella of the same name, starred Vidya Balan in her first Hin...