Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away today in South Kolkata after fighting Covid-19 for almost 40 days. He suffered from Covid encephalopathy. He was 85 and is survived by his wife Deepa, who was also an actor, son Sougata and daughter Poulomi Basu.
He has acted in over 300 films and his well-known career spanned over 61 years. Soumitra Chatterjee has acted as the protagonist in as many as 14 films made by the legendary Satyajit Ray, a feat no other actor could match.
Chatterjee received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998 and 2011, the Padma Bhusan in 2004, and the National Film Award for acting in 2006.
The highest honours, however, came rather late in his life. In 2012, Chatterjee received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award and, in 2018, the government of France honoured him with the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, (Legion of Honour) the highest civilian award of the country.
He has got a huge fan circle in Bengal and many prominent personalities paid their last tribute to him with a heavy heart. Chatterjee. May his soul rest in Peace.