India mourns one of its biggest stars. On Sunday, actor Soumitra Chatterjee, born in Krishnanagar (West Bengal) in 1935, died of coronavirus at the age of 85. Poulami Bose, his daughter, said the actor died in a hospital in Calcutta where he was hospitalized after testing positive in early October.
Soumitra Chatterjee will have marked cinema and television in the Bengali language with more than 200 films. In 2012, he received the Dada Saheb Phalke prize, the highest distinction in Indian cinema. During his long career he worked particularly with director Satyajit Ray, Oscar winner in 1992 a few months before his death, for all of his work.
Ray directed the actor in 14 films, among which The World of Apu (1959), his very first role. But also The goddess (1960), Three girls (1961), Distant thunders (1973) or again Branches of the tree, their last collaboration and the director’s penultimate film released in 1990.
International, Indian and Bengali cinema has lost a giant.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal.
“Feluda is no more. Apu said goodbye to him. Farewell, Soumitra Chatterjee. He was a legend during his lifetime. International, Indian and Bengali cinema has lost a giant. He will be sorely missed. The world of cinema in Bengal is an orphan ”, said Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal.
“Best known for his films with Satyajit Ray, Soumitra has received the Legion of Honor, the Dadasaheb Prize (…) and several national prizes. A great loss. Condolences to his family, to the film fraternity and to his admirers around the world ”, she then added.
Before arriving at the crematorium, the funeral procession of Soumitra Chatterjee crossed the streets of Calcutta on Sunday, in the midst of a huge crowd of worshipers who came to pay him a final tribute, candles, flowers and photos to the hand.
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