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Although acting was in his blood, the big screen did not attract him much in the early part of his youth, but in his own language about the film, ‘Nak Unchu’ Soumitra’s mind was on recitation and plays.
Dikpal Satyajit Ray of Indian cinema opened the window of that mind, debuting on the big screen with his hand. The following story: “I came, I saw, I won.”
Legendary West Bengal actor Soumitra Chatterjee said goodbye to the world stage on Sunday afternoon while undergoing treatment at the Bellevue Clinic in Kolkata.
In his 65 years of life, he has spent more than six decades performing. Viewers have seen his presence in Daputa in more than three hundred films.
Even then, the young Apu of that ‘undefeated’ and the Bengali detective character ‘Feluda’ himself will keep him alive at all times.
Nadia’s lawyer father in Krishnanagar, Mohit Kumar Chattopadhyay, and her mother, Ashalta Chattopadhyay, were involved in Manchanat. Ashalta was a founding member of the local theater company ‘Portrait’. As such, the quality of the performance is found in Soumitra’s birth.
Soumitra Chatterjee arrived at Ganga-Jamuna Natyotsab in Dhaka in 2015
He was born on January 19, 1935 in Krishnanagar. The nickname in the family was ‘Pulu’. Although he grew up watching regular drama rehearsals in his living room, his official connection to acting was made much later.
After graduating from St. John’s School, Krishnanagar, he graduated with a BA in Bengali literature from Calcutta City College and a MA in Bengali from the University of Calcutta. During his student life, he began the work of the hand of the renowned actor and director Ahindra Chowdhury.
At a young age, seeing the play of another famous actor and director Shishir Bhaduri, his love for the stage grew stronger. Soumitra made a permanent place in the audience’s minds by playing the title role in director Sumon Mukherjee’s play ‘King Lear’ based on William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’. According to many, this is his most acclaimed work.
On the recitation and drama setting, Bund Soumitra had a very “high on the nose” disposition towards the film in her own language. As a result, the world of Bengali cinema did not appeal to him that way.
However, seeing Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ he changed his mind. Soumitra then thought, the movie can be made!
At the time, Satyajit Ray was looking for an actor to play the role of Apu in the second Apu Trilogy movie ‘Aparajit’. Soumitra was friends with his assistant Nityananda Dutt. Soumitra also auditioned for the film with a friend. However, Soumitra’s age did not match the character and he did not give up.
Ray, however, remembered Soumitra; He was cast in the role of the young Apu in the last film of the Apu trilogy ‘Apur Sansar’ made in 1959.
At Apu Sansar, Sharmila Tagore, 13, acted alongside Soumitra. The two made their big screen debut in that movie.
Scenes like ‘One after eating, you promised’ written on a cigarette packet and the chemistry of the Soumitra-Sharmila duo are still fresh on viewers’ minds.
After the great response from the audience, they didn’t have to look back. He has established himself acting in one movie after another.
Soumitra has acted in 14 of Ray’s 34 films. Besides Apu, Feluda has also been praised by critics for his role.
Although the bond with Ray is very strong, Soumitra also became essential in the films of Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumder, Gautam Ghosh, Rituparno Ghosh, Aparna Sen.
Soumitra has made a permanent seat for viewers through films such as Saat Pake Bandha, Charulata, Box Badal, Akash Kusum, Manihar, Kanch Kata Heere, Jhinder Bandhi, Aranyer Dinratri, Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, Heerak Rajar Deshe, Ghare Baire and Aranya. In the heart.
Soumitra Chatterjee has been repeatedly compared to another legendary contemporary actor, Uttam Kumar. Fans have been busy debating who is bigger than who in acting.
Uttam Kumar, who said goodbye to the world a long time ago, became the great hero of Bengali cinema in his life. So where is Soumitra’s place in that silver world?
Soumitra Chatterjee made her film debut with Ray’s Apu Sansar
Today’s popular Tollywood actor, Parambrata Chatterjee, has tried to give a simple answer to this question. Soumitra Chatterjee’s biopic ‘Abhiyan’ was being made under her direction. Soumitra has also acted in it after the confinement.
In an article published on Soumitra in Anandabazar, Parambrata wrote about his talk one night.
“I’ve been to Cuba. Although no one in that country goes out for a walk. So, when I told my brother-in-law that I had visited Cuba, he asked me: ‘What did I see there?’ I told my brother-in-law everything I saw. At the end I said: ‘You know, brother-in-law, I think Uttam Kumar is the Che Guevara of Bengali cinema and Soumitra Chatterjee is Fidel Castro.’
The brother-in-law said: ‘Why? Why do you think that? ‘I said, look, Uttam Kumar died when he was at the peak of his fame and success. As a result, the image of his hero has been maintained. He didn’t have to face anything else. This stage of the Bengali film industry, series, nothing to see. Like in politics.
“And Fidel? He had to see how much. He had to cut the dirty chapter of politics. Just like you. In fact, longevity has proven it to you and to Fidel. That is why Uttam Kumar is a Bengali cinema che and you are Fidel ”.
Soumitra Chatterjee with Satyajit Ray on the set of the film. Photo: Nimai Ghosh / BBC
Are Soumitra of theater and Soumitra of cinema different people? The playwright Vibhas Chakraborty has differentiated the subject in one of his articles as follows:
“Soumitrada was able to distinguish himself from the high performances of the contemporary general theater. Perhaps you chose this path consciously. I do not mean that this is the only form of theater. But it is a correct path, a prominent trend. He was able to absorb it. This is the success of the actor and theater director Soumitra.
“Creating art from the ‘normal’ is not very easy. He has worked more as a professional in the cinema. In many movies, the character-script-story does not borrow from normality. Many mainstream actors of the Mumbai genre can make that point. But in that case, it looks like Soumitradar would be in trouble. “
In addition to the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honor, Soumitra Chatterjee has won several national film awards. The French government has awarded him the title of ‘Legion of Honor’. In 2004, the Indian government awarded him the title of ‘Padma Bhushan’.
Although the performance made him famous, Soumitra did not stop reciting poems for a day. The writing and directing of plays are carried out in parallel. ‘Tiktiki’, ‘Namjivan’, ‘Rajkumar’, ‘Nilakantha’ are his works.
‘Soumitra Chattopadhyay’s best poems’, ‘Midnight signs’, ‘Oh eternal water’, ‘The birth will be born’, ‘What remains’, ‘O Tarde’ are some of the books of poems written by him.
The poems of Rabindranath Tagore and Jibanananda Das have always drawn him into recitation. Her poems have a different dimension in Soumitra Chatterjee’s voice.
Film director Sandeep Roy has the opportunity to see Soumitra differently; He is the only son of Satyajit Ray.
In an Anandabazar article, he wrote: “The tone of voice, the way of speaking, everything was great from the beginning, he didn’t have to make any effort, but not at all.” During ‘Apur Sansar’, my father used to say that his voice was very fine. Oh mother! That Soumitrakaku became a skilled reciter!
“It just came to our knowledge then. He practices with the voice of the voice, his work in different directions led him to become not only an actor, but also an artist! He had his own challenge. The challenge of becoming something.”
Bratati Bandyopadhyay wrote: “His voice was also different. Just as Kazi Sabyasachi’s high-pitched voice distinguished him, just as Shambhu Mitra distinguished himself by his small snub-nosed voice and his way of speaking, Soumitra recognized his own voice and his own reading style.
His voice is completely different. I liked Jibanananda’s poem on his throat. Little by little, his other poems began to pull. Rabindranath poems, poems by post-Rabindranath poets, and poems by contemporary poets. I understood that he used to read poetry from a place of his own feelings, from a place of faith.
Soumitra was able to distinguish himself from many in the West Bengal film industry, largely due to his intellectual adventures, reading, his own creation, and his ability to seamlessly wander in different branches of culture.
His own position was also clear to him in political thought. He has always spoken out against the politics of orthodoxy and division in the name of religion.
Soumitra, a supporter of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was one of the fiercest critics of the ruling BJP of India. His political views have also appeared in his writings at different times.
When Soumitra was in hospital during the last Durga Puja, his latest article appeared in the fall issue of the CPM spokesperson, in which he made clear his views on the current political situation in India.
“It is surprising to think that he was the one who caused the terrible riots in Gujarat in 2002, he is the masnad of India today! The people of India tolerate them, winning again with their votes. I think one of the main reasons is that people don’t have a solid alternative or don’t understand it. ”
In Soumitra Chatterjee’s words, “although there are doubts about the left, this is still the alternative.”
Soumitra was also friends with Jyoti Basu, the leader of the CPI (M) who has been the Chief Minister for a long time in the history of India. He has brought up the memory of Jyoti Basu appearing at various gatherings held by his uncle in his childhood.
Soumitra did not get lost in the crowd when leftist intellectuals joined Mamata Banerjee’s (Trinamool Congress) camp in 2011 after a political turnaround in West Bengal.
Babita in Bangladesh with Soumitra Chatterjee in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ashani Sanket’
Soumitra’s wife, Deepa Chatterjee, is also a cultural activist. The daughter Paulmi Basu is the director of the play; Soumitra has acted in several plays, including Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Kalmrigaya’ and ‘Fera’, under the direction of his daughter.
Son Saugat Chatterjee is a poet; The anti-propaganda man has written several books, including ‘The Whale Poem’.
Randeep Basu, grandson of Soumitra Chatterjee (son of Paulmi) is one of Tollygunge’s emerging actors. Randeep, best known for his role in the film ‘Dutt Versus Dutt’ directed by producer and singer Anjan Dutt, later starred in a few more films, such as ‘Ludo’, ‘Family Album’ and ‘Messi’.
Babita, a popular heroine of the seventies and eighties in Bangladesh, had the opportunity to act with Soumitra Chatterjee in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ashani Sanket’.
He told bdnews24.com: “An artist like him does not die; he was, is and always will be in the heart of the audience.”
[প্রতিবেদনটি তৈরি করতে সহযোগিতা করেছেন কাজী সাজিদুল হক]
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