GUWAHATI: Gayatri Barua, wife of noted Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, died in Pune on Thursday following a suspected cardiac arrest while having a meal at a restaurant.

According to preliminary reports, Gayatri Barua collapsed while having a late lunch at a restaurant in Pune. She was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors examined her and declared her dead.

Filmmaker Manjul Barua, nephew of Jahnu Barua, said Gayatri Barua was possibly at the canteen of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in Pune when the incident took place.

She had reportedly been working on the restoration of the acclaimed Assamese film Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai at the archive.

Her sudden demise has come as a shock to the Assamese film fraternity and those associated with the state’s cultural and cinematic world.