‘Feluda is no more’: Soumitra Chatterjee’s death ends an era in Bengali cinema

The largest disservice to Soumitra Chatterjee could be to classify him as a Bengali actor. While his medium of interplay was Bengali, Chatterjee was undoubtedly a global determine, the final of the enlightened Renaissance males of Bengal, the blue-eyed boy of Satyajit Ray. From Ray’s iconic Apu, because the sleuth Feluda aka Prodosh Mitter or the fearless Udayan Pandit, Chatterjee has at all times left his impression on each movie that he has ever been part of.

Soon after the actor’s loss of life, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “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. Best known for his films with Satyajit Ray, Soumitra Da was conferred with Legion of Honor, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Banga Bibhushan, Padma Bhushan and several National Awards. A great loss. Saddened. Condolences to his family, the film fraternity and his admirers across the world.”

Also learn: ‘Lost a family member’, says Satyajit Ray’s son pays tribute to Soumitra Chatterjee

With a movie profession that started in 1959, the Dadasaheb Phalke award winner not solely emerged as a scion of the Bengali movie trade and theatre world, but additionally left his indelible mark as a poet, editor and scholar.

Born on 19 January, 1935 at British Calcutta’s Mirjapur Street, Chatterjee spent the primary 10 years of his life in Krishnanagar within the district of Nadia, West Bengal. Chatterjee’s grandfather Lalit Kumar Chatterjee was the president of a theatre group whereas his father Mohit Kumar Chattopahyay was an beginner actor. Soumitra, fondly referred to as Pulu, (the identify later used for his display screen buddy in Apur Sansar), began appearing at school performs and was quickly recognised for his appearing chops.

The Chatterjee household ultimately moved to Howrah, the place Chatterjee graduated from the City College and accomplished his MA in Bengali literature. At that point, he began taking appearing classes. Impressed by a efficiency of Shisir Kumar Bhaduri, theatre director and the doyen of Bengali theatre, a younger Soumitra determined to take up appearing as a career.

He got here in contact with Satyajit Ray in the course of the casting for Aparajito (1956), the second movie within the Apu Trilogy, however Ray provided him the function of grownup Apu, two years later, in Apur Sansar (1959), Chatterjee’s debut movie. The movie laid the inspiration of a director-actor mixture, Soumitra and Satyajit, which continues to be unmatched within the Tollywood movie trade. Ray featured the actor in 14 of his display screen ventures, and in addition modelled his well-known sleuth, Feluda, on him. In one among his interviews, Chatterjee had mentioned, “Ray was possessive of me, like a father is of his son.” Their chemistry is akin to different key collaborations within the historical past of cinema like Mifune and Kurosawa, Mastroianni and Fellini, De Niro and Scorsese, DiCaprio and Scorsese, Max von Sydow and Ingmar Bergman, Jerzy Stuhr and Kieślowski.

Chatterjee had as soon as recollected, “I was doing theatre at that point and had no celluloid dreams. In fact, I had reservations about Indian cinema. To us, theatre was high art while cinema was for mass consumption. Young people in theatre often suffer from this misconception and I was no different. But when I watched Pather Panchali (1955), it totally blew my mind. I never imagined that cinema could rise to that level and was convinced that this was how the future of acting and movies would be.”

In his six-decade lengthy profession, Chatterjee labored with filmmakers like Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumdar, Ajoy Kar and Gautam Ghose, to call a number of. He turned the star of Bengali movies, with equal experience and fan following in industrial and parallel cinema. 70s Kolkata movie golf equipment used to buzz with debates, evaluating his reputation with Uttam Kumar, Tollywood’s matinee idol.

All by means of his appearing profession, Chatterjee was bestowed with accolades. He acquired the ‘Officier des Arts et Metiers’, the very best award for arts given by the French authorities. Talking in regards to the honour, he had mentioned, “At this age, awards do not hold a great attraction. But I should say this award is slightly special as it comes from a country that is known for its cultural richness and artistic excellence.”

He additionally acquired a Lifetime Achievement Award from Italy. He turned down the honorary Padma Shri award from the Indian authorities within the 1970s although later, in 2004, he accepted the celebrated Padma Bhushan award from the President of India. He was the topic of a full-length documentary named Gaach by French movie director Catherine Berge. In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Incidentally, apart from getting eight occasions BFJA – Best Actor Awards and worldwide recognition for his appearing prowess, Chatterjee by no means gained a National Film Award for appearing within the early a part of his profession. In a gesture of protest, he turned down the 2001 Special Jury Award for Dekha directed by Goutam Ghose.

However, after receiving the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour given by Government of India in 2004, he modified his viewpoint in the direction of awards, and said, “Now I feel I don’t have the right to hurt my viewers by rejecting an award.” On 9 June 2008, he was awarded the 2007 National Film Award for Best Actor for 2006’s Podokkhep (Footsteps), which he accepted. In 2010, he gained Best Supporting Actor at 54th Asia-Pacific Film Festival for his function in Angshumaner Chhobi (2009). In 2012, he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honour in cinema. In 2014, he acquired the introductory Filmfare Awards East for Best Male Actor (Critics) for his function in Rupkatha Noy. He additionally gained the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1994)

Chatterjee had, for a big span of his life, a much-adored identify in Bengali poetry. His verses earned praises and his works have been featured in quite a few little magazines. He shared shut ties along with his up to date poets like Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shati Chattopadhyay, Tarapada Roy, and was acknowledged for his modifying abilities for the little journal Ekkhon.

Even at 85, a number of days earlier than testing positive for Covid-19, the veteran actor was busy capturing for his biopic, in a Tollygunge film studio. Throughout his life, Chatterjee had again and again voiced his want “to breath his last while performing onstage.” Destiny had fulfilled his want as Bengal bids adieu to her final cultural icon, the beloved bhodrolok of Bengali cinema.