Soumitra Chatterjee, legendary Bengali Film Actor passes away at 85

Soumitra Chatterjee, the legendary film actor of Bengal passed away on November 15, 2020, in Kolkata at the age of 85. The star of Bengali cinema and winner of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, he was known for his collaborations with the Oscar-winner legendary director Satyajit Ray. The actor fell sick in October 2020 and was tested COVID-19 positive which later developed into multiple complications leading to his demise.

Soumitra Chatterjee became synonymous with the detective character named ‘Feluda’ which was created by Satyajit Ray. The first appearance of ‘Feluda’ was in a series of detective books written by Satyajit Ray who later decided to give it a celluloid format in which Chatterjee played the lead role in all the movies on ‘Feluda’. Following the success of these movies, Ray later started making illustrations of Feluda in books based on Chatterjee’s figure.

Prime Minister Modi mourned the demise of the legendary Bengali movie star and mentioned his death as a loss to the world of cinema.

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 15, 2020

Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee also took to Twitter to pay her condolences and remembered Soumitra Chatterjee as ‘Feluda’ and ‘Apu’ and tweeted that the film world in Bengal has become orphaned.

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 1/2

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 15, 2020

Best known for his films with Satyajit Ray, Soumitra Da was conferred with Legion of Honor, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Banga Bibhushan, Padma Bhushan & several National Awards. A great loss. Saddened. Condolences to his family, the film fraternity & his admirers across the world 2/2

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 15, 2020

Soumitra Chatterjee: Journey of the legendary star

•  Apart from the movies, Soumitra Chatterjee was known as a noted reciter, poet, and actor. He learned his acting skills under Ahindra Choudhury, the noted actor-director of Bengal.

•  The turning point in Soumitra Chatterjee’s career came when he saw a play by Sisir Bhaduri, a theatre director. At this point, the idea of acting came to his mind.

•  Chatterjee’s debut in the film world came with Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) in 1959. The film was the third part of Ray’s world-famous Apu trilogy. He played the lead role in the film ‘Apu’ opposite the veteran actor Sharmila Tagore.

•  Later Chatterjee became one of Ray’s favorite heroes and acted in his 14 movies including Abhijan, Charulata, Ashani Sanket, Aranyer Din Ratri, Jai Baba Felunath, Sonar Kella, Ganashatru, and Ghare Bhaire.

•  Soumitra Chatterjee also worked with other Bengali film directors such as Mrinal Sen in the movie ‘Akash Kusum’.

•  In the movie ‘Teen Bhubaner Parey’ with Tanuja saw him in his prime with a stellar performance.

•  Chatterjee has also been compared with Uttam Kumar, Bengali Superstar as both the actors are known for their individually distinct acting abilities. They also acted together in Jhinder Bandi of Tapan Sinha.

•  In 1978, after giving two decades of brilliant performances in Bengali cinema, he returned to stage theatre.

•  Some of Chatterjee’s very well-known theatres were Rajkumar, Ghatak Biday, Tiktiki, and Phera. Since November 2010, his performance of Raja Lear which was based on King Lear received widespread critical appreciation.

•  In his over six decades-long career, Chatterjee continued working till the end. In 2019, he gave his last movie ‘Sanjhbhati’.

Soumitra Chatterjee: List of Awards

Soumitra Chatterjee: Personal Life

He was born in Calcutta, West Bengal, in 1935, and spent the first 10 years of his early life in Krishnanagar. Chatterjee’s family moved to Howrah where he studied in Howrah Zilla School during his early years.

Soumitra Chatterjee graduated in Honours in Bengali Literature from City College, Kolkata as a graduating student of Calcutta University. He also did his M.A. in Bengali from Calcutta University. The turning point came in his life in the final year of college when he saw a play by Sisir Bhaduri.