Famous Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury, whose story Abhimanyu was made into critically acclaimed Hindi movie Ek Doctor Ki Maut, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Sunday, his family said.
Chowdhury was 95. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Chowdhury had been suffering from a lung problem besides ailments related to old age, and was admitted to the hospital on July 21 . He suffered a cardiac arrest at 6.30 pm, according to the hospital.
The story of Abhimanyu (1982) was based on the life and work of Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay, who created India’s first and the world’s second test-tube baby in 1978. Based on the story, director Tapan Sinha made Ek Doctor Ki Maut in 1990, which went on to win several awards.
Another acclaimed film director Mrinal Sen too worked on Ramapada Chowdhury’s works. Sen’s Hindi venture Ek Din Achanak (1989) was based on his Beej.
Born on December 28, 1922, at Kharagpur, Ramapada Chowdhury’s other famous literary works include Pratham Prahar (1954), Banpalashir Padabali (1960), Ekhoni (1969), Kharij, and Bari Badle Jay (1988), among others. In 1988, he was conferred the Sahitya Academy award for Bari Badle Jay.
Chowdhury’s last book was Harano Khata, which was published in 2015.
Many of his works had also been made into critically acclaimed Bengali films ‘Dwiper nam tiarang’ (1963), ‘Ekhoni’ (1970), ‘Picnic’ (1972), ‘Banpalashir padabali’ (1973), ‘Je jekhane danriye’ (1974) and ‘Kharij (1982).
Ramapada Chowdhury was also the recipient of Rabindra Puraskar, Ananda Puraskar and Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize.
(With agency inputs)