Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee's wife Deepa passes away in Kolkata

Deepa Chatterjee, the wife of legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, died at a city hospital on Sunday, her family said. "Maa breathed her last around 2:55 am. She died of kidney failure," her daughter Poulomi Bose said.

Deepa, 83, was admitted to the hospital on March 31. Soumitra Chatterjee, multiple award-winning actor, died in November last year following a long battle with various ailments after testing positive for COVID-19. Deepa, a badminton champion who had also acted in films like 'Durga' and 'Bilombito Loy', married Soumitra in 1960.

Soumitra Chatterjee's legacy

Soumitra Chatterjee had shot to fame with appearances in legendary director Satyajit Ray’s films, starting from Apu in '60s right till Shakha Proshakha in 1990. He also worked with other well-known directors like Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Asit Sen, Ajoy Kar Tarun Mazumdar.

In a career spanning six decades, he went on to work in over 200 films. He last featured in the film Sanjhbati, that released in 2019. 

Chatterjee won three National Awards in his career. He had been honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2004. He was felicitated with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012. 

He is also the first Indian film personality to have been conferred the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres which is France’s highest award given to artists for their outstanding performance. Soumitra Chatterjee has worked in some of the classic Indian movies. Apur Sansar was his debut film. Some of his works include Abhijan, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri and Ashani Sanket.

(With PTI inputs)