Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee is no more

It was on October 6 this year that legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee tested positive for coronavirus. Later, he had tested negative for the virus, but he faced secondary infection as a repercussion of COVID-19. And finally, Chatterjee died on November 15, at Bellevue Nursing Home in Kolkata.

Soumitra Chatterjee is widely considered the face of Bengali cinema, and he has proved his mettle both in realistic and parallel cinema.

Soumitra Chatterjee has been an ardent cinema lover during his childhood. His passion for acting began at a very young age, and he used to act in school dramas. After moving to Kolkata from Krishnanagar, he started to focus entirely on his acting career.

The turning point in Soumitra’s life came after he started working with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Ray, popularly known as Manikda in Indian cinema, used to write most of his screenplays with Saumitra in his mind.

Most of the movies made by Satyajit and Soumitra were well-received by critics and audiences. Even while leading a busy acting career, Soumitra explored the meaning of his life in stages. For his contribution to cinema, the Indian government honoured him with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Dada Saheb Phalke.

Soumitra’s last film to hit the theaters was Borunbabur Bondhu, directed by Leena Gangopadhyay. The film had its premiere at the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival in 2019, and was released in theaters on January 10, 2020.