New Delhi: Soumitra Chatterjee, one of the most celebrated artists of Indian cinema and among Bengal’s finest and most loved actors, passed away on 15th November, 2020. He is well known for his collaboration with Satyajit Ray – they did 14 films together, starting with his debut film, Apur sansar.
Born in 1935, Soumitra Chatterjee was initiated into films through Bengali theatre and became a legend during his lifetime, essaying memorable roles, not only in Ray’s films, but in films directed by veteran film makers, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Tarun Majumdar and others.
The first Indian film personality to be conferred with the France’s highest honour for artists, Commandeur de l’ Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Soumitra Chatterjee won numerous awards and accolades including the highest honour of Indian Cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan and National Film Awards by the Government of India.
Films Division is paying tribute to the legendary artist by screening his biopic, Soumitra Revisited (Sandip Roy/46 minutes/English/2011) on 18th November, 2020 along-with a short film, Master’s Touch (Sandip Roy / 16 Mins / English / 2015), based on the paintings by Soumitra Chatterjee.
Soumitra Revisited travels through the life and works of the multi-faceted cultural figure – a film, theatre and television actor, poet, painter, editor and an avid lover of sports who was rightly referred to as the Renaissance Man of Bengali cinema.