The charm of Soumitra Chatterji

Ranjita Biswas

Satyajit Ray was looking for someone to play the role of Apu as a grown up man in the final chapter in his signature Apu Trilogy. Who would play the shy, likeable Apu, connoisseurs wondered. By now they had been introduced to a whole new experience of Indian film by Ray’s earlier Pather Panchali and Aparajito. Ray, famed for his accurate casting, searched patiently and then zeroed on a young man who was an announcer at the All India Radio. His name was Soumitra Chatterjee. 

With Sharmila Tagore making debut as his young wife in Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959), Chatterjee immediately caught public imagination. The audience also found an alternative to the reigning matinee idol Uttam Kumar. He went on to act in 14 films by the maestro. 

Six decades later, at 82, Soumitra Chatterjee is still batting. Winner of numerous awards, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the latest feather in his cap is the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian award. 

Chatterjee has acted in more than 300 films across genres, working under famous directors like Tapan Sinha, Tarun Mazumdar, Ajoy Kar, etc. to name a few. But he never stepped out of the Bengali films though there were many offers from Mumbai, including that from Raj Kapoor. Asked why, he said in an interview that there would have been more money as also a bigger audience, but would not have been able to do things he liked.

Indeed, the veteran actor is a multi-faceted personality. He writes and publishes; when he recites poems in his mellifluous voice, his audience is spell bound; he writes plays and regularly performs on stage.

Chatterjee has often said that he feels alive even at this age because he works. He has retained the distinctiveness of the golden ’60s in Bengali cinema even though he has explored many contemporary issues though his characterisations. He hates being typecast. So, his ouvre is extraordinary. What area hasn’t he explored? Romancing top heroines of his times, including Tanuja, Aparna Sen, etc.; playing cerebral roles in Ray’s interpretations of Tagore’s stories (including Charulata, which the director said was his most perfect film) as also the famous sleuth ‘Feluda’; a teacher witnessing the degeneration of society into political hooliganism (Atanka); a paralytic doctor, who helps a rape victim recover (Wheel Chair), and so on. He continues to act in significant roles in Bengali films with social commentary, for example, fighting for grandparents’ right to bring up a child (Posto).

Yet, directors who have worked with him, some many decades younger to him, say he never throws around his weight. If at all, he may suggest some changes in the dialogues or scenes if asked for advice. However, he accepts a role only if the script interests him.

Despite having been in showbiz for so long, Chatterjee is an intensely private person. But he does not allow personal problems to hamper his work. A thorough professional, he kept to his commitment to give interviews during the promos of Posto though he had been under tremendous mental pressure with his grandchild under intensive care after a road accident.

Critics have also pointed out that Chatterjee’s best works have been under directors who have been able to extract from his potential. He loves the challenges intense roles throw at him, even if they could deter him physically sometimes, he says. No wonder, admirers wait eagerly to discover what new grounds the legendary actor would break under the baton of intelligent filmmakers, who understand what he is capable of.