Ved Rahi, the Dogri and Hindi writer, poet, screenwriter and filmmaker whose working life stretched from Jammu to Mumbai's film industry, has reportedly died at his residence in Thane, Maharashtra. He was 93. The death was reported as having occurred on Sunday, 1 November, and drew condolences from the Sahitya Akademi and from Dogri Sanstha Jammu.
The Sahitya Akademi said it mourned an "eminent Dogri writer, thinker and filmmaker", describing him as a distinguished figure in modern Dogri literature whose contribution would be remembered for generations. It counted him among the literary figures who enriched Dogri writing through stories, novels and poetry. Its secretary, Dr Varun Gulati, said in a condolence message that the loss was irreparable for Indian literature, Hindi cinema and the cultural inheritance of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rahi was born in Jammu on 22 May 1933 into a family closely associated with journalism and public life. His father, Mulk Raj Saraf, was a pioneering journalist who established Ranbir, an influential newspaper in the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. He began as an Urdu writer before making his name in Dogri and Hindi, working across novels, poetry, short stories, plays and essays.
His short-story collection 'Aale' won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983. Other books included 'Kaale Hatthe', 'Garbh Joon' and 'Lal Ded', and Dogri Sanstha Jammu credits him with over 15 original works in Dogri alone. He was elected a Fellow of the Akademi, its highest honour, in 2024, though the Akademi's own condolence note calls the fellowship a recent one.
Cinema and television widened his audience. He wrote scripts and dialogue for about 25 Hindi films, among them 'Pavitra Papi', 'Paraya Dhan', 'Be-Imaan', 'Sanyasi' and 'Charas', and directed 'Prem Parbat', 'Kali Ghata' and 'Veer Savarkar'. On the small screen, his Doordarshan serial 'Gul Gulshan' Gulfam, built around a Kashmiri household living on houseboats, became especially popular.
Professor Lalit Magotra, president of Dogri Sanstha Jammu, expressed profound grief and described as invaluable Rahi's role in developing and popularising Dogri literature.
Although his films and serials reached millions, his Dogri writing stayed central to his identity, and the body of work he leaves behind — more than 15 original Dogri titles by one count — is credited with helping the language find a place in India's wider literary landscape at a time when regional writing often struggled for readers beyond its own community.
(With inputs from media reports)