IANS

Kolkata, Jul 6: Eminent Bengali actor Subhendu Chatterjee, who essayed significant roles in films of maestro Satyajit Ray, passed away in a city hospital Thursday night. He was 71.

Chatterjee, who will be remembered for his roles in several Bengali movies as a hero and second hero, including Ray's "Arannyer Dinratri" (Days and Nights of Forest), was suffering from heart and lung ailments and was admitted to the AMRI Hospital in south Kolkata since July 2. He died at around 8.30 p.m.

Chatterjee was also a doctor. His son Saswata Chatterjee is a successful actor. He has another son based in California. A contemporary of late Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar and actor Soumitra Chatterjee, with whom he played second hero in many films, Chatterjee with age had graduated into character roles.

While Chatterjee will be remembered for his roles in films like "Chowringhee" (the acclaimed novel of writer Shankar now translated into English), since the 1980s he was seen in the roles of arrogant father or even villain in many a Bengali pot-boiler.
 
Chatterjee began his career in 1965 with "Akash Kusum" of another eminent Bengali filmmaker, Mrinal Sen. His memorable avant-garde films included "Jana Aranya", "Ganashatru", (both directed by Ray), "Lal Darja" (Buddhadeb Dasgupta), "Dahan" (Rituparna Ghosh) and "Chorus" (Sen).

The Bengali film industry went into a state of mourning as the news of his death spread. "He was my best friend and a great actor. He was always there by me in my times of trouble. We were a family. He was a good doctor too," said Bengali comedian Chinmoy Roy as he broke down.

Recipient of many awards, Chatterjee also was a successful stage actor and the play "Bilkish Begum" staged during the 1980s was a super hit.

One of his recent films was "Abar Arannya" (Again in Forest), a sequel to Ray's "Arannyer Dinratri" made by Goutam Ghosh a few years ago.

Popular actor Prosenjit said: "He was like family. He played my father in many films."