Veteran Bengali actor Santu Mukhopadhyay who was notable for his works in films such as Sansar Simante and Bhalobasa died at his south Kolkata residence on Wednesday evening after prolonged ailments. Santu Mukhopadhyay, who was 69, died after suffering from cardiac arrest at 7:30 pm. He had been suffering from carcinoma for long and was got admitted to a hospital on February 4 with blood sugar and hypertension. He was discharged in the last week of February and taken home to rest.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The actor died at his south Kolkata residence on Wednesday evening
- He died of cardiac arrest at 7:30 pm
- He had been suffering from carcinoma for long
He was the favourite of directors like Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumder and Goutam Ghosh, Santu Mukhopadhyay was survived by his wife Gopa Mukherjee and daughters, actress Swastika Mukherjee and costume designer Ajopa Mukherjee.
He was born in Kolkata on 17 January 1951. Santu Mukhopadhyay became a familiar name when he was in the early 20s with films like Sansar Simante and Raja by Tarun Majumder and Tapan Sinha, respectively. He soon became a known face on the big screen with films like Ganadevata and Byapika Biday. His other remarkable works spanning a period of over four decades includes Bhalobasa Bhalobasa, Hemanter Pakhi, Dadamoni and Baikunther Will.
Santu Mukhopadhyay was also a well-known face on the small screen. He has also worked in shows like Isthi Kutum, Jol Nupur and Andarmahal. He continued to work despite his deteriorating health. West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas visited the residence of Santu Mukhopadhyay and offered his sympathies to the grieving family members. Director Kaushik Ganguly, in whose movie Brake Fail Santu Mukhopadhyay had played a pivotal role, said: “It is a personal loss for me.”
Mukhopadhyay learnt dancing from Gopal Bhattacharya and presented his gifted voice to a number of songs in films, His Rabindra Sangeet rendition “gopono kathati rabe na gopone” in Bhalobasa Bhalobasa and aamar hriday tomar apon hater dole’ in Parabat Priya got applause from both high-nosed critics and the common cinema-goers.
