One of the greatest actors of twentieth-century cinema, Soumitra Chatterjee had set new heights for Indian cinema with his fine acting skills and brilliant screen presence.
The veteran actor passed away in November 2020 due to covid-19 complications. Despite the huge loss, his awe-inspiring body of work shall remain unfazed, much-cherished, and undefeated.
He would have turned 86 years today, had the legend of the silver screen lived on.
Soumitra Chatterjee was the legend of Bengali cinema, who breathed freshness, credibility in every character. Be it comedy, romance, adventure- his diverse acting prowess will be remembered forever.
Here are four of his must-watch films on the actor’s 86th birthday anniversary.
APUR SANSAR: The third and the last movie in the Aputriology by Satyajit Ray. It explores the world of Apu as a young adult as he gets married to Kajol (played by Sharmila Tagore), starts a family of his own, and starts living a stable life. The film won the National award for the best feature film and marked the beginning of Indian Cinema.
CHARULATA: Charulata shows the life of Charu (played by Madhabi Mukherjee), a woman who has her interests in arts, poetry, and literature. Bhupati, her husband has no time for her, due to which she finds her companion in Amol (SoumitraChaterjee), and ends up falling in love with him. This movie is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, ‘Nastanirh’. the ending scene of this film is still described as one of the most beautiful uses of freeze-frame in cinema.
KONI: Koni is based on the novel by Moti Nandi of the same name. ‘Koni’ shows the journey of a girl of the same name to win a National Swimming Championship. The movie portrays a realistic approach, the struggles of a poor girl living in a slum area, in the clutches of poverty as she finally achieves her dreams with the help of her coach, Khidda (SoumitraChaterjee). In an interview in 2012, SoumitraChaterjee told about how he considers this film as one of the most important and remarkable in his career. The film won a national award in 1984.
BELA SHESHE: Bela seshe is a 2015 family drama. The film stars Soumitra Chatterjee and Swatilekha Sengupta in lead roles. It is a film where a married couple is on the verge of separation on their 50th marriage anniversary, the complexities weaved into a marriage, it makes a nuanced comparison between the relationship we see nowadays and the ones our grandparents share, the true meaning of love and life-long companionship.
Text by: Sreyoshi Sil, IBTN9
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