Charm of the Chatterjee

Soumitra Chatterjee has been given the National Award for the Best Actor. Here is a tribute to one of the greatest actors India has ever seen.

By P.Muraleedharan
What is Soumitra Chatterjee to Indian cinema? He is no mega star like Amitabh Bachchan, no style-king like Rajnikanth and no heartthrob like Shahid Kapur. But, Soumitra revolutionized film acting in India as no other has done before. He brought in a new sensibility, reveled in the delineation of the subtle nuances of human psyche and remained an actor rather than a star. Endowed with a masculine but sensitive countenance, Soumitra was the ideal vehicle for showcasing Satyajit Ray’s psychologically rounded heroes. He was as efficient an actor with his words as he was with his silences. Indian cinema, with its emphasis on theatricals and declamatory dialogues, stood in awe as the Bengali geniuses went about their job.
Soumitra debuted in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apur Sansar’ (1959), the last of the Apu trilogy. He impressed Ray so much that he went on to act in another 13 movies by the master. He was to Ray what Toshiro Mifune was to Akira Kurosawa or Marcello Mastroianni to Federico Fellini. Though he had acted in the films of acclaimed directors such as Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha, what would remain in memory are his roles in ‘Charulata’, ‘Devi’, ‘Teen Kanya’, ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’, ‘Ghare Baire’ and ‘Ganashatru’. His portrayal of Feluda in the Ray thriller, ‘Sonar Kella’, made him hugely popular.
In ‘Uttoran’, (the last script by Satyajit Ray) directed by Sandip Ray, Soumitra Chatterjee interprets the pulls and pressures experienced by Dr.Sengupta, a successful cardiologist. Ray’s complex commentary on modern medicine is conveyed by Soumitra with great finesse.
Chatterjee never lost his love for the theatre. He still acts and directs plays in Bengal.
He has received many honours from foreign shores, including the 'The Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts from France and a lifetime achievement award from Italy. There is a full-length documentary film on him by the French director Catherine Berge, titled 'Tree'. He was awarded Padmabhushan in for his contributions to Indian cinema.
The National Award had eluded him all these years. As Buddhadeb Dasgupta, the chairman of the film jury for the 54th National Film Awards said, “He should have been given the award a long time back. But yet, we thought a chance had come to honour him.”
There is no doubting that the award comes too late for Soumitra. “Personally, after decades of acting, I do not attach too much value to it,” he told a reporter.
The award was given in recognition of his work in ‘Podokkhep’, but it is a tribute to one of the greatest actors Indian screen has ever seen.

Source: India Syndicate