Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away at 12.15pm on Sunday, 15 November in Kolkata. 85-year-old Soumitra Chatterjee, was admitted to Kolkata's Belle Vue Clinic on 6 October after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was on life support. Though the actor tested negative for coronavirus on 14 October, he had to remain in hospital because of complications due to COVID-19 induced encephalopathy.
In a Facebook post, Poulami Bose, Chatterjee’s daughter wrote:
“With deep grief I must inform you that my beloved father ... my Bapi left us this morning. As a family, we are devastated. Please say a prayer for his soul.
I humbly and earnestly request you all please do not come over to our place right now ...my mother and my sons health is fragile at best... please do not put them at risk... PLEASE KEEP THE PANDEMIC IN MIND AND PRAY FROM THE SAFETY OF YOUR HOMES... If you all are truly concerned please respect what my father would have wanted...
please do not call me or text me... I will speak to everyone when I'm ready... please give me the space and the privacy that I so desperately need right now...
If anyone wishes to meet my mother or my brother please call them...
Please please don’t contact me now”
On Saturday, Dr Arindam Kar in a medical bulletin stated that Chatterjee’s condition was “grave and critical” and that the actor “is not responding to treatment”. Stating that Chatterjee had stopped responding to therapies, Dr Kar had added in the bulletin, “Let’s all pray he gets better, but it seems unlikely he will have a favourable outcome. We have informed all the family members and with a saddened heart they have accepted that nothing less than miracle can get him out of this situation.”
After his debut film, Apur Sansar in 1959 Soumitra Chatterjee went on to win worldwide acclaim as an actor notably for several films by Satyajit Ray including Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella, Joi Baba Felunath, Ghare Baire and Ganashatru. Chatterjee was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012. He has also won two National Film Awards as an actor, and acting endeavours in theatre, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998.
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