Soumitra Chatterjee Passed Away: End of an Era

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away today at the age of 85. He was admitted in hospital after tested COVID – positive on 6th October. Soumitra Chatterjee was the pillar of Bengali Cinema. His contribution in Bengali as well as Indian Cinema is indispensable.
Though he started his early career as an announcer in All India Radio, he later established himself as a prolific actor and with the course of time he became a legend in Indian Cinema. In a career of more than six decades he has acted in more than 210 films. He started his film career in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apur Sangsar’ and worked with him in several notable films like Abhijan (1962), Charulata (1964)as Amal, Aranyer Din Ratri (1969); Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973); Sonar Kella (1974) and Joi Baba Felunath (1978) as Feluda; Hirak Rajar Deshe(1980), Ghare Baire (1984)as Sandeep, Shakha Proshakha (1990) and Ganashatru (1989). He also has worked with several other legendary Bengali directors such as Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha. He will be remembered forever for the immortal characters he had acted like ‘Feluda’, ‘Khidda’, ‘Apu’ etc.
He had been awarded Dadasaheb falke award in 2012. Soumitra Chattopadhyay was also the first Indian film personality conferred with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest award for artists. In 2017 he received Légion of Honor award. Apart from these, throughout his film career he had been awarded with many prestigious awards. He also received ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2004. Apart from Cinema he also has acted in theatres and also established himself as a great writer.

Among his recent films ‘Belasheshe’, ‘Sajhbati’ are his most notable works. Today, at the age of 85 years after a fight of 5 weeks with corona, he passed away creating an irreplaceable hollow not only in the world of Bengali or Indian Cinema but also in the field of Bengali cultural world. Still, through his immortal works he will be remained forever in our hearts.