Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away on Sunday afternoon after battling for his life for 40 days. He had tested positive for COVID-19 last month. He was 85 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
“We declare with a heavy heart that Shri Soumitra Chatterjee breathed his last at 12:15 pm at Belle Vue Clinic today. We pay our homage to his soul,” said a statement from Belle Vue Clinic where he was admitted.
The Dadasaheb Phalke award-winning actor is best known for his collaborations with Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films. Soumitra Chatterjee is also the first Indian film personality conferred with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest award for artists. In 2017, exactly thirty years after auteur Satyajit Ray was honoured with France’s highest civilian award, the coveted Legion of Honor, Chatterjee also received the prestigious award.
In October, Soumitra Chatterjee tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted in Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata. However, he tested negative after the 2nd Covid-19 test conducted on October 14. In the meantime, his complications (urinary tract infection, fluctuations in sodium potassium levels, etc.) made his condition critical, and he had to be admitted to ITU.
