Veteran Bengali Actor Pradip Mukherjee Passes Away

Veteran
Bengali
actor
Pradip
Mukherjee,
who
immortalised
the
character
of
the
protagonist
in
Satyajit
Ray’s

Jana
Aranya
(The
Middleman),
died
on
Monday,
August
29,
at
a
hospital
in
Kolkata,
his
family
said.
Mukherjee,
76,
left
behind
his
wife,
a
son
and
a
daughter.
He
was
admitted
to
a
private
hospital
three
days
back
due
to
an
infection
in
his
lungs
and
shifted
to
a
state-run
hospital
on
Sunday,
his
family
said.
His
condition
worsened
there
and
he
breathed
his
last
at
8:15
am
Monday,
the
family
said.

Condoling
his
death,
West
Bengal
Chief
Minister
Mamata
Banerjee
said
in
a
statement
in
Bengali,
“I
am
saddened
on
getting
the
news
of
the
death
of
Pradip
Mukherjee.
He
had
left
his
mark
in
Satyajit
Ray’s
Jana
Aranya,
Rituparno
Ghosh’s
Utsav
and
Buddhadeb
Dasgupta’s
Dooratwa.
His
death
left
a
deep
void.” The
chief
minister
conveyed
her
condolence
to
his
family
and
admirers.

Mukherjee
had
acted
in
over
40
films
–
including

Hirer
Angti
(The
Diamond
Ring,
1992)
by
Rituparno
Ghosh
and

Mondo
Meyer
Upakshan
(A
Tale
of
a
Naughty
Girl,
2002)
by
Buddhadeb
Dasgupta.
He
started
his
acting
career
with
Satyajit
Ray’s
Jana
Aranya
(1976)
in
which
he
essayed
the
role
of
Somnath,
the
central
character.
His
last
released
film
is

Torulatar
Bhoot
(Ghost
of
Torulata
Lake)
in
2021.

“He
had
been
noticed
by
my
father
in
a
Bengali
stage
production
and
he
decided
to
cast
him
in

Jana
Aranya.
He
delivered
an
excellent
performance.
He
was
a
true
well-wisher
of
the
Ray
family.
We
lost
a
family
member,”
Ray’s
son
and
eminent
filmmaker
Sandip
Ray
told
PTI.

Mukherjee
also
acted
in
Satyajit
Ray’s

Shakha
Prasakha
(Branches
of
a
Tree,
1990)
and
Sandip
Ray’s

Jekhane
Bhooter
Bhoy
(Where
Fear
of
Ghosts
Lurks,
2012),

Badsahi
Angti
(The
Emperor’s
Ring,
2014)
and

Gorosthane
Sabdhan
(Beware
of
Graveyard,
2010).
His
only
Hindi
film
was
Sujoy
Ghosh’s

Kahaani
2:
Durga
Rani
Singh
(2016).

Director
Nirmal
Chakraborty
recently
cast
Mukherjee
in
his
period
film

Datta,
based
on
Sarat
Chandra
Chattopadhyay’s
eponymous
novel.
Chakraborty
told
PTI:
“Pradipda
was
a
down
to
earth,
gentle
and
cultured
person.
He
was
dedicated
to
his
work
despite
his
poor
health.
He
always
wanted
to
know
if
I
was
happy
with
his
performance.”