A few Bengali old timers fondly remembered the evening when Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Soumitra Chatterjee, who is lovingly called as Soumitra Da, by all Bengalis had visited them.
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The 85-year-old Thespian died at a hospital in Kolkata fighting the side effects of COVID-19, on Sunday.
Going nostalgic and emotional, they remembered when he visited Bengali Association, a cultural club established by the Bengali diaspora, in 1973.
The then secretary of the club, Ratan Pal, said that the actor had come to Visakhapatnam to shoot for a film by name ‘Epaar Opaar’ with co-star Aparna Sen, some time in 1973. “He was staying in hotel by name Sun N Sea (now The Park). We approached him in the morning and requested him to come to our club. He spontaneously agreed to come in the evening. Though we were prepared to receive him, there was an element of doubt, as he was busy with his shooting schedule. He did arrive on time and spent considerable time with us,” said Mr. Pal.“He was down to earth and instantly jelled well with us and after going around the club and understanding our activities, he appreciated us by giving a pat on our shoulders,” said Mr. Debu Chatterjee, then member of the executive committee.
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Knowing that he was an excellent orator and reciter of poems, we requested him to recite a poem and he agreed to recite a poem written by Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam ‘Amar Kaifiyat’, recollects Mr. Debu Chatterjee.
“We wanted to give him a book comprising Nazrul’s poems from our library, but he refused and recited the poem extempore in his baritone voice, which still rings in our ears,” said a nostalgic Mr. Pal.
A few old timers who had interacted with the Bengali star say that he was modesty personified, as he not only interacted with them freely with ‘no airs’ but even also enjoyed a dinner with them.
Soumitra Chatterjee was given Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest award in Indian cinema in 2012, Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts given by the French government, in 1999, Padma Bhushan in 2004 and many others.
Soumitra Chatterjee made his debut in film in 1959 in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apur Sansar’ and later worked in over 14 films with Ray, including playing the role of Feluda (the iconic detective series of Ray). Many, including the younger generation still referred to him as Feluda. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s tweet on Sunday read: ‘Feluda is no more- Apu said goodbye’.
Soumitra Chatterjee was taken to Kolkata's Belle Vue Clinic Hospital on October 6, a day after he tested positive for the coronavirus and died on Sunday afternoon, despite testing negative.