Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away on Sunday due to COVID-19 complications and the medical board at the Kolkata hospital where he was for over a month announced the news. He was 85. Chatterjee's health condition was "extremely critical" and he was "not responding at all" to treatment, critical care expert and head of the medical board Arindam Kar had said just minutes back. The octogenarian actor's health condition "extremely" deteriorated since Friday.
Soumitra Chatterjee was cremated with full state honours and a gun salute in Kolkata on Sunday evening. The veteran actor's mortal remains were kept at Rabindra Sadan from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm yesterday for his fans and followers to pay their last respects. Hundreds of followers, artistes, members of the film fraternity joined Soumitra Chatterjee's funeral procession. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the funeral. She walked the entire distance from Rabindra Sadan to Keoratala crematorium. Thereafter, the actor was cremated at the Keoratala crematorium with full state honours. He was honoured with gun salute by the Kolkata Police.
Soumitra Chatterjee's daughter Poulami Basu appealed to people not to come over to their place right now due to the pandemic situation. "My mother's and my son's health is fragile at best. I humbly and earnestly request you please do not put them at risk," Basu wrote on her Facebook page. The octogenarian actor passed away at Kolkata's Belle Vue Hospital on Sunday. "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. I humbly and earnestly request you all please do not come over to our place right now," Chatterjee's daughter said.
The bereaved daughter requested everyone not to put her ageing mother and son 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," she said asking for space and privacy that she so desperately needs right now.
The Dadasaheb Phalke awardee was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kolkata's Belle Vue Hospital for almost 40 days and his consciousness level went down significantly since Friday. The condition of the veteran actor had remained a matter of concern owing to co-morbidities and advanced age. His key problem was Covid-19 encephalopathy, doctors said. Soumitra 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. Last time he attended the shooting floor at Bharatlaxmi Studio was on October 1. The next shooting schedule was fixed on October 7.
(Source: Viral Bhayani / Instagram)
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