Veteran Bengali actor Kalyan Chatterjee, known for his extensive work across Bengali and Hindi cinema, died late Sunday night after a prolonged period of illness. He was 81.
According to the West Bengal Motion Picture Artists Forum, the actor had been under treatment at MR Bangur Super Speciality Hospital, where he breathed his last. He had been suffering from typhoid and multiple age-related ailments.
Family sources told PTI said he had been bedridden for a long time and had been away from acting for several years due to persistent health complications.
His body was taken directly from the hospital to the Keoratala crematorium, where the last rites were completed.
Born in 1942 in Berhampore, Murshidabad, Chatterjee had shown an early inclination toward acting. He studied performance at the Pune Film Institute before making his screen debut in Tapan Sinha’s 1968 film Apanjan.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, he acted in over 400 films, largely in supporting roles. His body of work includes notable titles such as Dhonyi Meye, Sagina Mahato, Dui Prithibi, Sabuj Dwiper Raja, Baishe Srabon, and Safed Haathi. He also appeared in Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi.
Chatterjee worked alongside some of Bengali cinema’s most prominent figures, including Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick and Dipankar De. Beyond Bengali cinema, he featured in Hindi films as well, including Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani.
Chatterjee has also acted in several television and OTT shows like Ek Akasher Niche and Tansener Tanpura.
The Artists Forum, in its statement, said, “One of our most valued members, Kalyan Chattopadhyay, has left us. We are deeply shocked. May his soul rest in peace”.