Kumar Ramsay eldest of Ramsay Brothers dies aged 85

Filmmaker Kumar Ramsay, known for penning most of the Ramsay Brothers'' horror films including Rishi Kapoor-starrer "Khoj", passed away on Thursday due to cardiac arrest. He was 85. Kumar breathed his last at his residence in Hiranandani here, his eldest son Gopal told PTI. "He passed away due to cardiac arrest, today morning around 5:30 AM. He passed away very quietly. The funeral will take place around 12 PM. We are waiting for the priest to arrive," Gopal said. Kumar was the son of producer FU Ramsay and the eldest of the seven brothers.  The Ramsay Brothers, which included Keshu, Tulsi, Karan, Shyam, Gangu and Arjun, ruled the horror genre, making low budget cult movies in the 70s and the 80s. 

Kumar was instrumental in scripting most of their films, including "Purana Mandir" (1984), "Saaya" (1989), featuring Shatrughan Sinha, and 1989 hit "Khoj", which also starred Naseeruddin Shah. He also produced films like "Aur Kaun?" (1979) and "Dahshat" in 1981. Kumar is survived by wife Sheela and three sons, Raj, Gopal and Sunil. The seven sons of FU Ramsay initially ran an electronics shop in Mumbai but found themselves lured by the glamour of Hindi films and became synonymous with cinema that combined sleaze, superstition and gore. Their ticket to success was the 1971 film Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche, which was shot on a budget of ₹ 3.5 lakh over 40 days with a crew of 15 at a time when the average Hindi film took ₹ 50 lakh to make. Legend has it that Ramsay brothers put the team up at a government guest house in Mahabaleshwar, borrowed cameras and got actors to bring their own clothes to finish shoot. The film set the cash registers ringing and made about ₹ 45 lakh, giving birth to an entire genre that acquired cult status over time.