Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee passes away at age 85

Actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away on Sunday in Kolkata following COVID-19 complications. He was 85. An official statement from the hospital read, “We declare with a heavy heart that Shri Soumitra Chattopadhyay breathed his last at 12:15 pm at Belle Vue Clinic today. We pay our homage to his soul.” The legendary actor, who debuted in Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece Apur Sansar and acted in 14 films of the maestro, had been under treatment in the hospital since 6 October after testing positive for COVID-19. He had later tested negative for the infection but COVID encephalopathy set in which “undid every effort,” the doctors said. The thespian’s neurological condition had worsened on Friday, 13 November. An EEG had shown that there is very little activity in the brain, the doctor further added. His oxygenation requirement had gone up and his kidney function had deteriorated. Arindam Kar, critical care expert and head of the medical board at Kolkata’s Belle Vue Hospital said that the doctors have tried really hard to “revive” him to a better state. “We are very sorry to say that he is not responding at all,” he added. Chatterjee was shooting for a documentary titled Abhijan directed by actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay. Last time he attended the shooting floor at Bharatlaxmi Studio was on 1 October. He had worked in acclaimed films like Ashani Sanket, Ghare Baire, Aranyer Din Ratri, Charulata, Shakha Proshakha, Jhinder Bandi and Saat Pake Bandha, among others. The actor was also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan (2004) and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2012) which is the country’s highest honour in the field of cinema. Chatterjee won three National Film Awards for Antardhan (1991), Dekha (2000) and Podokkhep (2007). The French government honoured the actor with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Legion of Honour. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)