India, Aug. 26 -- The role of a production manager is rarely given its due, though every theatre group knows how crucial it is. A performance is never just a single night under the lights; it is the sum of very many moving parts, and Sachin Kamani understood how to keep them in motion. On August 24, the 47-year-old died after struggling with an aggressive form of brain tumour.

Kamani could calm an anxious actor, find the simplest meals without lowering the standard, gather the crew to build sets, arrange a place to stay, organise transport, and at the end of it all, suggest which bars to land up in post-show. Nothing was beneath his notice, and nothing escaped his grasp.

His funeral, held on Sunday night at the Oshiwara crematorium, was...