Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee, 85, dead

Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee died after a month-long battle with multiple ailments. He was 85 and had starred in an array of films in Bengali covering a wide range of themes, tones, and genres. Chatterjee tested positive for COVID-19 and was subsequently admitted to the Belle Vue Clinic hospital on October 6, a day after he tested positive for COVID.

A team of doctors was attending to Chatterjee as his condition oscillated between ‘stable and critical.’ Chattergee, a prostrate cancer survivor, received plasma therapy to fight COVID-19.

Soumitra Chatterjee had collaborated with the most iconic directors. The iconic Satyajit Ray-Soumitra Chatterjee combination made 14 movies together. His made his debut in Ray’s 1959 film Apur Sansar, part of the Pather Panchali trilogy.

Chatterjee’s last appearance on silver screen was in Sanjhbati in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the death a “colossal loss to world cinema”, while chief minister Mamata Banerjee said Bengali cinema has “lost a giant”.

“Shri Soumitra Chatterjee’s death is a colossal loss to the world of cinema, cultural life of West Bengal and India. Through his works, he came to embody Bengali sensibilities, emotions and ethos. Anguished by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” Modi said in a tweet.

Banerjee, in her twitter post, said, “Feluda’ is no more. ‘Apu’ said goodbye. Farewell, Soumitra (Da) Chatterjee. He has been a legend in his lifetime. International, Indian and Bengali cinema has lost a giant. We will miss him dearly. The film world in Bengal has been orphaned.”

Chatterjee was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Tagore Ratna. In 2012, the nation honoured him with its highest film honour – the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. His films Antardhan, Dekha and Padokkhep won him nation awards.