Uma Dasgupta, ‘Pather Panchali’ star, passes away at 84
Uma Dasgupta is known for her iconic role as Durga in Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali'. Beyond cinema, she dedicated her life to teaching in Kolkata.
Bengali film and television actress Rita Koiral died on Sunday after a three-month battle with liver cancer at a private city hospital, her family said. She was 58.
Survived by a daughter, Koiral was a popular face on Bengali big and small screens and mostly portrayed negative roles.
She worked with directors like Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Anjan Dutta.
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Her prominent films include Asukh (1999) by Ghosh, Sen’s Paromitar Ekdin (2008) and Dutta Vs Dutta (2012) by Anjan Dutta.
‘Boro Bou’, ‘Gunda’, ‘Jiban Niye Khela’ and ‘Chirodini Tumi Je Amar’ are among her other hit films.
Koiral also acted in a number of television serials, including the ongoing ‘Rakhi Bandhan’ and ‘Stree’.
She had at one time regularly acted in jatra (folk theatre) and theatre.
Condoling Koiral’s death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Saddened to hear about the passing away of actress Rita Koiral. My condolences to her family, friends and fans. Gone too soon.”
Leading Bengali film hero Prosenjit Chatterjee said he was “shocked and extremely upset” over Koiral’s sudden demise.
“Loss for the industry. Such a powerful actress she was,” Chatterjee tweeted.
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