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Mumbai, Nov 16 (Ians) Superstar Aamir Khan on Monday mourned the death of legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chattopadhyay, who passed away the day before at the age of 85.

In an Instagram post, Aamir shared that the late actor's work will continue to bring joy to all cinephiles.

"Indian Cinema has lost one of its leading lights. My heartfelt condolences to Soumitraji's family, and to all his fans. His work will continue to bring joy to all of us. Rip Shri Soumitra Chatterjee," Aamir wrote.

The Dadasaheb Phalke recipient thespian's death was confirmed on Sunday morning by a bulletin from Kolkata's Belle Vue Hospital, where he had received Covid treatment.

"We declare with heavy heart that Shri Soumitra Chattopadhyay breathed his last at 12.15 pm at Belle Vue Clinic today (15 November 2020). We pay our homage to his soul," said the hospital statement.

Soumitra made his debut with "Apur Sansar" (1959) and, over the next three decades,...

By Vinayak Chakravorty

He was the alt superstar of Bangla cinema in its glory years, the affable Bhadralok icon who crafted a towering stature ironically banking on down-to-earth, believable characters that represented middle-class Bengal. The brand of stardom was in stark contrast to the other shining luminary of contemporary cinema in the state -- Uttam Kumar -- whose position as Mahanayak in the Bengali psyche was primarily cemented in idol worship and mass hysteria.

Soumitra Chattopadhyay -- Chatterjee to anglicised India -- answers to the term ‘phenomenon' as absolutely as few actors do, for the sheer ease with which he defied the cliches of image. His stardom was sensational, and yet born out of realism. He was the mascot of the peerless Satyajit Ray's oeuvre, having worked with the maestro in 14 films, and yet he scored with the same assuredness in works of contemporary commercial powerhouses as Ajoy Kar and Tarun Mazumdar.

Amas Musical Theatre Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer will present three Free staged readings of Distant Thunder, a new musical with music and lyrics by Chris Wiseman and Shaun Taylor-Corbett, book by Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Shaun Taylor-Corbett, additional music and lyrics by Robert Nassif Lindsey, directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. The readings will take place on Thursday, February 28th at 100pm, and Friday, March 1st at 100pm and 400pm at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street. Tickets are free and are available online at www.amasmusical.org, via email at boxofficeamasmusical.org, and by calling 212-563-2565.

Soumitra Chatterjee

Soumitra Chatterjee has been my way of life. He is, for many Bengalis even if he passed our stage of life three decades ago. This is one classic test that he endured like his mentor Satyajit Ray. But even apart from the towering shadow of Ray, Soumitra carved out an image for himself which he fostered over a period of time, so much so that even younger generations can’t but try to emulate him.

Be it the dreamer in Apu (Apur Sansar) or Amal (Charulata), the charismatic sleuth in Feluda (Sonar Kella), the casual romantic in Teen Bhuvaner Paare (twisting his way to impress Tanuja) and Basanta Bilap or the fairy-tale villain Mayur Bahan in Jhinder Bandi, Soumitra has played it all. He had been a successful hero, second only to Uttam Kumar in popularity perhaps but never shied away from doing character roles even then. How...

Long Shadows: The Late Work of Satyajit Ray opens this evening and runs through April 26 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center: "Of special interest is Home and the World [1984; image above], his final, wonderful adaptation of a work by his mentor, Rabindranath Tagore (whose 150th anniversary we celebrate this year), as well as his final, luminous work, The Stranger, an extraordinary summing up of so much of Ray's worldview graced with a sensational lead performance by Utpal Dutt." Plus, "we asked some friends of the Film Society: what film would you recommend seeing, and why?" Meantime, Paul Brunick posts a roundup on Distant Thunder (1973) at Alt Screen. Update, 4/20: Salman Rushdie for the Fslc on The Golden Fortress (1974): "The film is a true delight and the moment when the Golden Fortress is discovered — when it is revealed not to be a child's fantasy but a real place, shimmering on...

The Film Society of Lincoln Centre will celebrate India's greatest filmmaker and one of cinema's greatest auteurs Satyajit Ray with 'Long Shadows: The Late Work of Satyajit Ray.' Unspooling at the Walter Reade Theatre here from April 19 through April 26, the promised follow-up to the 2009 Satyajit Ray tribute, Long Shadows includes all the films made by Ray in the autumnal years of his career. Already an acknowledged giant of world cinema, Ray in these later works reveals a more meditative side: his brilliant powers of observation lead him to pare down his style, allowing his characters and the world to reveal themselves. Of special interest is 'The Home and the World', his final, wonderful adaptation of a work by his mentor, Rabindranath Tagore, as well as his final, luminous work, 'The Stranger', an extraordinary summing up of so much of Ray's worldview graced with a sensational lead performance by Utpal Dutt.