Soumitra Chatterjee (19 January 1935 – 15 November 2020) was an Indian actor, playwright, poet and editor, one of the finest screen actors India has produced. He is best known for his fourteen films with the director Satyajit Ray, beginning with Apur Sansar in 1959, and to Bengali audiences as the first screen Feluda. In a career of more than sixty years he acted in over three hundred films while remaining active in the theatre and in literature. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and France’s Legion of Honour.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Soumitra Chattopadhyay |
| Born | 19 January 1935, Calcutta, Bengal |
| Died | 15 November 2020 (aged 85), Kolkata, West Bengal |
| Occupation | Actor, playwright, poet |
| Years active | 1959–2020 |
| Known for | Apur Sansar, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella, Koni |
| Education | City College, Calcutta; University of Calcutta (M.A. Bengali) |
| Spouse | Deepa Chatterjee |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2004); National Film Award for Best Actor (2006); Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2011); Legion of Honour (2017) |
Early Life
Chatterjee was born in Calcutta and spent his first ten years in Krishnanagar, a town with a lively theatre tradition. His father, a lawyer, acted in amateur productions, and plays were staged at home. He studied Bengali literature at City College and the University of Calcutta. As a student he saw the veteran actor-director Sisir Kumar Bhaduri on stage and resolved to become an actor; Bhaduri became his mentor. He worked for a time as an announcer at All India Radio.
Career
He had been considered for the adolescent Apu in Ray’s second film and judged too old. Ray remembered him, and in 1959 cast him as the grown Apu in Apur Sansar, the last part of the trilogy, opposite the fourteen-year-old Sharmila Tagore. Their collaboration lasted until Ray’s death and ranks with the great partnerships of director and actor in world cinema. He was the sceptical son in Devi, the Rajput taxi driver in Abhijan, the aspiring writer Amal in Charulata (1964), the city man on holiday in Aranyer Din Ratri, the village priest in the famine film Ashani Sanket, the revolutionary in Ghare Baire and the doctor in Ganashatru. In Sonar Kella (1974) and Joi Baba Felunath he played Ray’s detective Feluda, a role that made him a hero to children.
He worked with Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Ajoy Kar and held his own in popular cinema at a time when Uttam Kumar ruled it; the two appeared together in several films, including Jhinder Bondi, in which he played the villain. His swimming coach in Koni (1984), with the cry “Fight, Koni, fight”, is among his most loved performances. In old age he had a late run of successes with Bela Seshe, Mayurakshi and Posto.
He wrote, adapted, directed and acted in many stage productions, among them Naam Jiban, Tiktiki and a celebrated King Lear. He published more than a dozen books of poetry, co-edited the literary magazine Ekshan for many years, painted and gave recitations that drew large audiences.
Honours
He declined the Padma Shri in the 1970s. He later accepted the Padma Bhushan, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the National Film Award for Best Actor for Podokkhep and, for 2011, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema. France made him an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters and in 2017 a chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Personal Life and Death
He married Deepa in 1960, and they had a son and a daughter. He was open about his left-wing convictions. In October 2020 he was admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and died of complications on 15 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Soumitra Chatterjee born?
Soumitra Chatterjee was born on 19 January 1935 in Calcutta, Bengal.
When did Soumitra Chatterjee die?
Died: 15 November 2020 (aged 85), Kolkata, West Bengal.
What is Soumitra Chatterjee known for?
Known for: Apur Sansar, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella, Koni.
What honours has Soumitra Chatterjee received?
Padma Bhushan (2004); National Film Award for Best Actor (2006); Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2011); Legion of Honour (2017).
Featured image: Soumitra Chatterjee at an evening of Tagore readings in Kolkata, May 2011. Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
