Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee dies on Sunday from Covid-19 complications in Kolkata. He was 85. Chatterjee is known for his uniqueness and the consistency with which he worked for 62 years. Soumitra Chatterjee, Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, Padma Bhushan, recipient of National Awards for his films and global recognition for his extraordinary career after acting in over 300 films in a career that lasted over six decades.
His awards include France’s highest order of merit Legion d’Honneur. Chatterjee was a four-time National Award winner, and is regarded as one of the finest actors in the Indian film industry.
Chatterjee was more than an actor; he was a person with many other talents – poet, essayist, editor, playwright, thespian, painter. He was the one who brought the recitation of Rabindranath Tagore and Jibananda Das a depth of intellectual understanding, which has set him apart from the others.
He was a world class actor who made a place for himself in the world cinema. Surprisingly, he worked exclusively in Bengali cinema, telefilms, serials and the stage.
He had incredible talent in him which made his career an exceptional one. It can be seen that no actor is even close to the quality of his performance . He was an encyclopedia of film and theatre. He had a reflective mind and a creative actor, who worked with words, lines and colors.
He was discovered by Satyajit Ray and starred in 14 out of the total of 29 films the maestro made. Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) made in 1958, was his debut film. He was part of the unforgettable, Pather Panchali trilogy. Satyajit Ray also casted him in two of the documentaries out of the five that Ray made.
He was a a gentleman, passionate about the culture and the place, the language and its creativity. He was elegant, courteous, handsome, charming.
As a student he read Marx and Lenin and remained a committed Leftist all his life. He was a second division hockey player.
Though a super star, Chatterjee was never concerned by the glamour and the glitz. He lived a simple life, in a house for over three decades. He worked in a room which was converted outhouse, where he met visitors. He was always accessible to people and never had the need to show off his start status by employing muscular bodyguards.
Actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away Sunday morning, over a month after he had tested positive for Covid-19. The 85-year-old’s health had deteriorated in the last two days as COVID -19 started affecting his nervous system.
Chatterjee is survived by his wife and two children. He was admitted to the Belle Vue Clinic on October 6. Although he later tested negative for the virus, his condition deteriorated and he stopped responding to treatment.
His stature will not change even with him passing away nor turn him into one more frame in the long line up of past greats of Indian and world cinema.
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