Soumitra Chatterjee had been my way of life. He is, for many Bengalis even if he passed our stage of life three decades ago. This is one classic test that he endured like his mentor Satyajit Ray. But even apart from the towering shadow of Ray, Soumitra carved out an image of him which he fostered over a period of time, so much so that even younger generations can’t but try to emulate him. Be it the dreamer in Apu (Apur Sansar) or Amal (Charulata), the charismatic sleuth in Feluda (Sonar Kella), the casual romantic in Teen Bhuvaner Paare (twisting his way to impress Tanuja) and Basanta Bilap or the fairy-tale villain Mayur Bahan in Jhinder Bandi, Soumitra had played it all. He had been a successful hero, second only to Uttam Kumar in popularity perhaps but never shied away from doing character roles even then. How else can we get an Aghor in Sansar Seemante, a Gangacharan in Ashani Sanket or a Khsit-da in Koni? He showed that the actor prevails and not the star. This is why he had broken his star image so many times to nurse the actor inside. He should haven awarded the Best actor for any of his favourite 20-25 films. Ironically, he got it for Padakshep which is not a distinctive one. The Indian Govt. probably got it right this time – they didn’t mess up with India’s one of the finest actors.
What sets Soumitra apart? On one side, he had been thriving and bursting with creative restlessness that makes him a more complete creative persona – he being a poet, an elocution artist, editor for two decades of one of Bengal’s most versatile literary magazine and an actor. Notwithstanding 14 of Ray’s films he had acted with all major directors of Bengal barring Ritwik Ghatak. He wanted to remain ingrained to his culture and never wanted to move to Hindi films. As the cinema richness of Bengal started dwindling since the mid or late seventies, his creative thirst was satiated in theatre. Unlike in film where he remained only an actor, in theatre Soumitra Chatterjee became the writer (most of his plays are adaptations of foreign plays, though the adaptations are truly Indian and Bengali in spirit) and also the director apart from being the lead actor. True, probably his star image helped his theatre to start with but it is his range of topic and his strength of characterization that kept the audience interested for more than three decades now. Atleast with Neelkantha, Tiktiki and Raja Lear Soumitra reached insurmountable heights and these will be included in any serious discussion on Soumitra as an actor – both in films and on stage. I can find no parallel to Soumitra as an actor in Bengal. There are excellent film actors like Uttam Kumar (whose heroism is unparallel without any iota of doubt), Chhabi Biswas and Bikas Roy. But none of them have his range – from the youth to the middle-aged citizen to the old Samaritan, Soumitra played all with equal élan. He is probably the only Indian actor who matured so gracefully playing all the roles that fit his physical appearance at that point in time. If we compare the stage actors – Sombhu Mitra, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay and Utpal Dutt or even the legendary Sisir Kumar Bhaduri (Soumitra’s guru in theatre) then also we have to admit none of them had the filmic presence of Soumitra. He is the only successful bridge between theatre and films; every other notable Bengali actor has either one in their oeuvre but not both.
In the national scene, only a Naseeruddin Shah can be a parallel to Soumitra for his range of characterizations and deep sensitive understanding of the premise of acting. Not even Balraj Shahni whom Soumitra admired most. Simply because, for the last 5 decades with so many theatres and films Soumitra has filled his cupboard with so many acting jewel renditions that there may be many worthwhile pieces which need to be left out – some of which any other accomplished actor as well would be fortunate to act on in their lives. Naseer is probably an actor who played roles of different shades more than Soumitra, who mostly played the Bengali middle-class bhadrolok through the different ages of his life. Naseer on the other played characters with different ethnicity, race and socio-economic profiles with vivacity. Soumitra being a regional actor probably justifies for not able to match up on these grounds. However being a highly successful romantic hero and his theatre laurels will help him be one of the two finest actors of India for all times along with Naseer.
Now that I had a chance to interact with him often for a project I witness at 78 and with a failing health how he can churn out 4 different plays in a week at times, all nearly 2 hours runtime with him playing the lead. “How do you memorise all these lines?” I ask. He smiles “Am too worried that I will forget, it is out of fear”. I know he is acting, he is not true. The perfectionist in him makes him run, it doesn’t make him sit for a while. After 5 decades of crowning glory the restlessness to be creative is still in him. For 5 decades he had been part of a Bengali life the way Tagore is, the way Satyajit Ray is. My salute to the starlit sky for letting me and us witness one of its brightest star.
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