Legendary Indian actor Soumitra Chatterjee breathed his last on Sunday at the age of 85. He fought 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.

“I humbly and earnestly request you all please do not come over to our place right now. My mother and my sons health is fragile at best. Please do not put them at risk. PLEASE KEEP THE PANDEMIC IN MIND AND PRAY FROM THE SAFETY OF YOUR HOMES. If you all are truly concerned please respect what my father would have wanted.

“Please do not call me or text me. I will speak to everyone when I’m ready. Please give me the space and the privacy that I so desperately need right now. If anyone wishes to meet my mother or my brother please call them. Please please dont contact me now,” she added.

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 condition of legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee had been “very critical and grim” and last efforts to revive him were being made by the teams of doctors treating him at a private hospital in the city on Saturday.

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.

One of the doctors attending him said. “Despite all our efforts his physiological system is not responding. It (Chatterjee’s condition) is worse than before. He has been put on all sorts of support and he is fighting for his life,” he said.

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.