Uttam Kumar – The Legend of Indian Cinema’.

Uttam Kumar  is one of the most famous names of Bengali Cinema. Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 3 September 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak. He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime. A versatile actor,director, producer, singer and music director,his multifaceted talent earned him much acclaim and adulation.’Uttam Kumar was born’ in Kolkata in the home of his maternal uncle at Ahiritola, while his ancestral house is on Girish Mukherjee Road, Bhowanipore, Kolkata. After his schooling in South Suburban School (Main), he went for higher studies in Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration, a college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. He could not, however, complete his studies and started working at the Kolkata Port as a clerk. During this period, he acted in amateur theatre groups. His prodigious joint family had its own theatre group, the Suhrid Samaj, which staged many amateur shows.Uttam Kumar was the eldest of three sons (Arun, Barun and Tarun) of Satkari Chatterjee and Chapala Debi. The youngest, whose screen name was Tarun Kumar, acted in several Bengali films and grew to become an actor of considerable repute, in screen and on stage. There are several films in which Uttam Kumar and Tarun Kumar starred together like Saptapadi, Sonar Harin, Maya Mriga, Sesh Anka, Deya Neya, Jeeban-Mrityu, Dhanyi Meye,”Mon Niye” Sanyasi Raja, and Agniswar. Uttam Kumar married Gauri Debi [Chatterjee]. Their only son, Gautam, a businessman, died of cancer at the age of 53. His grandson, Gaurav is a Tollywood actor. Pulak Bandyopadhyay, a famous lyricist, was his uncle.Uttam kumar is generally perceived in Bengal as “Mahanayak’ means the great actor.Uttam’s first release was Drishtidan (The gift of sight) directed by Nitin Bose, though he worked in an earlier unreleased film called Mayador (Embrace of affection). He came into prominence in the film Basu Paribar and his breakthrough film was Agni Pariksha that began the roaring success of the all-time romantic pair of Uttam Kumar – Suchitra Sen; though they had first starred in Sharey Chuattor (74 and a half anna). Altogether, this pair starred in about 30 films between 1954 and 1974-75.Coming in the wake of the Indian Partition of 1947, and unprecedented mass migration from the then East Pakistan to Kolkata (then known as Calcutta), the Uttam-Suchitra pair gave expression to the yearnings of a new, transformed city. They played out on screen the new desires of a young audience trying to come to terms with industrial modernity and a new form of urban existence. The stylized, black-and-white romanticism of landmark Uttam-Suchitra films of the 1950s like “Agni Pariksha”,”Shapmochan”,Sagarika (1956), Shilpi (1956), or Harano Sur, Indrani, Sabar Uparey, Surjyo Toron reflected a novel, youthful urban desire to break free from the confines of the feudal joint family and set up a nucleated, private space for the couple in love. In contrast to the earlier phase of Bengali cinema mostly dominated by the dramatised style of the New Theaters’ films (in the 1940s), the Uttam-Suchitra films were marked by a more naturalistic acting style, a bit dramatic-stylized, soft-focus black-and-white cinematography with chiaroscuro effects, and a more popular and modern form of music that broke away more decisively from earlier dependence on classical types . These features were put in place by a new generation of cinematographers like Dinen Gupta and Ajoy Kar, a fresh batch of directors (Kar himself,Sudhir Mukherjee, Naresh Mitra, Sushil Majumdar, the combines of Jatrik and Agradoot) and musicians like Nachiketa Ghosh, Rabin Chattopadhyay, Anupam Ghatak, Hemanta Mukherjee Anil Bagchi, Sudhin Dasgupta and Salil Chowdhury, along with lyricists like Gauriprasanna Majumdar, Pranab Roy, Pulak Bandopadhyay. A number of them hailed from the left wing Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) movement.Uttam Kumar was especially adored for his effortless naturalism in front of the camera and a distinctively urbane charisma that broke free from the prototypical Bengali screen hero of the past. He went on to form successful screen pairs with many leading ladies like Supriya Choudhuri, Sabitri Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Sharmila Tagore, Anjana Bhaumick, Aparna Sen and Sumitra Mukherjee; apart from Sandhyarani in the 50s, Arundhati Debi and Mala Sinha in the 60s and Kaberi Bose and Tanuja in the 60s and 70s. Often hailed as the one-man industry, he dominated Bengali cinema for three decades until his death. This near-total reign was somewhat slightly disturbed during the politically turbulent era of the late sixties up to the emergency, when Uttam Kumar’s regular, politically passive or relatively conservative romantic film persona sometimes found it difficult to fit into the narratives of unrest that came to the fore.
Never quite satisfied with his undisputed matinée idol status, Uttam Kumar started experimenting with character roles early in his career, as evidenced by films like Khokababur Pratyabartan, (1960), Mayamriga, (1960) or Thana Theke Aschi (1965) and Bicharak. In Marutirtha Hinglaj (1959), he essayed a mentally disturbed character. In Kuhak he was a murderous thief, while in Sesh Anka, he was a suave businessman who had murdered his wife and was romantically engaged to the daughter of a social elite and rich nobleman. In Aparichita (1969) he also played the role of a villain. Such departures were unusual in relation to set formats of stardom in Indian popular cinematic cultures, where deviating from established ‘star images’ were often considered to be risky. However, this brought Uttam Kumar early recognition as a genuine actor of substance apart from a box office superstar and stood him in good stead later, especially in his collaborations with Satyajit Ray in Nayak (1966) and Chiriyakhana. A perfectionist, Uttam Kumar performed on stage for a full year, opposite Sabitri Chatterjee in Star Theatre in the play “Shyamali” [On screen, he played opposite Kaberi Bose]to hone up his skill as an actor.Apart from Bengali, Uttam Kumar also acted in some Hindi films such as Chhoti Si Mulaqat (along with Vyjayanthimala), Amanush,Anand Ashram, Dooriyaan (with Sharmila Tagore), and Kitaabwith Vidya Sinha. But his towering contribution was to Bengali cinema and the Bengali film industry on the whole.Perhaps his most lauded appearances was in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (The Hero). It is now widely accepted that Ray wrote the script with Uttam in mind. Many people feel the film bears resemblance to Uttam Kumar’s own life the sense of anxiety and restlessness mirrored Uttam’s insecurities about his phenomenal success and abiding fear that his superstardom might not last. Uttam made the role of Arindam (Mukherjee) his own and Ray later confessed that if Uttam had refused the film, he would have abandoned it. He worked with Ray the following year in Chiriyakhana (1967).When the Indian government instituted the National Film Awards for National Film Award for Best Actor and National Film Award for Best Actress in 1967, Uttam Kumar was the first-ever recipient of the Best Actor Award for his performances in Anthony Firangee and Chiriyakhana in 1967.He explored new avenues of film-making by trying his hand at production, singing, composing music, screenplay writing and directing. The success of his Bengali films as producer Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Bhrantibilash, Jotugriha (1964), Grihadah won great acclaim. Later, Uttam directed much-lauded films such as Sudhu Ekti Bochhor and Bon Palashir Padaboli. He composed music for the film Kaal Tumi Aleya in which Hemanta Mukherjee and Asha Bhonsle sang to his tune.He came out with an autobiography Amaar Ami in 1979-80. He had a phenomenal fan base which continues even to this day. Reruns of his films on television decades after his death are still eagerly watched. Uttam Kumar’s time is considered by most as the golden era of Bengali cinema.From 1947 to 1980, both in Bengali and Hindi,Uttam Kumar acted in 202 films. Among them 39 were blockbusters,57 were superhits,57 made profits above the average and the rest flopped.B.F.J.A Best Actor Award for Hrod (1955)Recognition from the Government of India for Harano Sur (1957)B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Saptapadi (1961). Uttam Kumar received the award from the legendary film-maker Debaki Bose.B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Nayak (1966). Attended the Berlin Film Festival as a distinguished guest.The very first recipient of the National Film Awards in the Best Actor category for both Chiriyakhana and Antony Firingee (1967).B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Grihadha (1967).B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Ekhane Pinjar (1971).Best Actor award from ‘Prosad’ magazine for Stri (1973). He received the award from Kanan Devi.B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Amanush (1974).Best Actor Filmfare Award Nomination for Amanush (1975).He received the Best Actor award for the same film from the Government of West Bengal on January 26, 1975. The price was worth 5000 rupees.B.F.J.A Best Actor award for Bahnisikha (1976).Best Actor award both from the Prosad magazine and Sanonskritik Sanbadik Sanostha for Anand Ashram (1977).The on-screen chemistry between Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen has always been much adored and admired.They looked like really beautiful couples. Some of Uttam’s famous films co-starring Suchitra Sen include “Share Chuattor”, “Agni Pariksha”, “Shilpi”, Saptapadi (Seven Steps),Pathe Holo Deri (Delay on the road), Harano Sur (Lost Music), Chaowa Paowa (Wish and Achievement), Bipasha, Jiban Trishna (Thirst for Life), Sagarika, Trijama, Indrani, Sabar Upare, Surjyo Toron, Rajlakshmi O Sreekanto, “Ekti Raat”, “Grihadaha” [also starring Sabitri Chatterjee], Kamallata, Har Mana Har, Alo Amar Alo.Shonar Harin (1959) saw Supriya Devi (who would win great accolades for her performance in Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara the following year) play the lead opposite Uttam Kumar. As they began to act in more films together, the two got involved off-screen as well. In 1963, Uttam left his family home in Girish Park and stayed with Supriya for the next 17 years till his death. They starred together in several other films like Uttarayan, Chirodiner, Agni Sanskar”, “Suno Baranari”, “Kal Tumi Aleya”, “Lal Pathor”, “Andha Ateet”, “Sudhu Ekti Bochhor”, “Mon Niye”, “Bilambita Loy”, “Bhola Maira”, “Sanyasi Raja, “Bon Palashir Padabali”.A workaholic, he was rumored to have said that his preferred demise would be on the floor of a studio, doing what he loved best: acting. While filming Ogo Bodhu Shundori in 1980, he suffered a heart attack. Uttam Kumar was admitted to the Belleveue Clinic. The doctors did their best for 16 hours but he died that night on July 24,1980 at the age of 53. As his hearse wound its way across Bhowanipur and finally to the Keoratala Burning Ghat, traffic in Kolkata came to a halt as thousands flocked the streets to pay their respects and have a last glimpse of the legend.There is a theatre (Uttam Mancha) named after him in Kolkata. A life-size statue has been erected near Tollygunj metro station which has recently been renamed after the iconic actor by the Central Railway Ministry.Besides, Shilpi Sansad, the actor’s pet project of safegurading the artistes especially the poor and the old, is active still. Celebrating the 83rd birth anniversary of Uttam Kumar, the Department of Posts in 2009, released a series of new postal stamps featuring the actor on them.The Department of Posts also released a brochure on the Uttam Kumar Stamp release with a note that says ‘Uttam Kumar – The Legend of Indian Cinema’.