A vision lives on
Even though he avoided limelight throughout his life, last week he was a headline in all Kolkata newspapers including The Statesman. And, in all international newspapers earlier in the month.
Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who died at the age of 85 on Sunday, would be honoured with a gun salute before being cremated, informed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Poulami Bose, the actor’s daughter, further informed that his body will be taken out of Belle Vue Clinic hospital at around 2 PM. From there he will be taken to his residence in Kolkata’s Golf Green.
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Chatterjee’s body will then travel to Nandan in Rabindra Sadan, considered as the hub of Bengali theatre, followed by the Technician Studio in Tollygunge.
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Thousands of Chatterjee’s devotees are expected to take part in a rally while his body would be taken from one part of the city to another. CM Mamata Banerjee has asked everyone to maintain COVID-19 protocols.
At the end of the day, the Padma Bhushan Awardee will be taken to Keoratala Burning Ghat where his last rites would be performed.
Chatterjee breathed his last on Wednesday after a long and hard struggle against COVID-19. Even though he had recovered from the coronavirus, other illnesses had kept him in a serious condition, informed the private hospital in Kolkata where he was admitted for 40 days.
“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,” Chatterjee’s daughter, Poulami Bose, informed.
It was Covid-19 encephalopathy that had made his brain weak before eventually turning it unresponsive, leading to a multi-organ failure.
“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,” the hospital said in a statement.
The Dada Saheb Phalke awardee was already on life support and had stopped responding to the treatment, since the last few days of this week.
Chatterjee had tested positive for coronavirus on October 5 and got admitted to the hospital the very next morning.
He was shooting for a documentary titled ‘Abhijan’ directed by actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay. He last attended shooting at the Bharatlaxmi Studio on October 1. The next shooting schedule was fixed for October 7.
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