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July 24 marked the 43rd death anniversary of Uttam Kumar. Fans of the legendary actor came together at Uttam Smaran Sandhya to pay homage with music and memories. Uttam Kumar Memorial Cultural Committee had organised the programme at Uttam Mancha. (Left to right) Kalyan Sen Barat, music composer; Subhen Chatterjee, percussionist; Soma Dey and Arijit Guha, actors. lit the ceremonial lamp and paid tribute to the matinee idol, reminiscing about him. My Kolkata was the digital partner of the event
All photographs by Soumyajit DeySubhen Chatterjee (left) spoke about Uttam Kumar’s understanding of music and his ability to elevate any music scene with perfect lip syncing. Soma Dey (centre) and Arijit Guha (right) expressed how their wish to work with the actor remained unfulfilled. ‘Uttam Kumar chhilen amader sei swapner nayak. Taake chokher samne dekha, se ek odbhut obhigyota (Uttam Kumar was the hero of our dreams. To be able to see him in front of our eyes was a different experience),’ Sen said
Kalyan Sen Barat and his Calcutta Choir presented a medley of popular songs from Uttam Kumar film, like ‘Surer akashe’ (‘Shapmochon’), ‘Laal neel shobujer mela’ (‘Chirodiner’), ‘Ami cheye cheye dekhi saradin’ (‘Deya Neya’), ‘Taare bole dio’ (‘Dui Bhai’) and more. The choir opted to sing without mike. The audience joined them and sang along in perfect harmony
Veteran actress Madhabi Mukherjee, who shared the screen with Uttam Kumar in several films like ‘Agnishwar’ and ‘Thana Theke Aschi’, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Since she is not well, Tanmoy Kar, the general secretary of the committee, and Kalyan Sen Barat met her at her home a few days prior to the event. The moment was shown on the screen during the programme
Uttam Kumar’s granddaughter-in-law Devlina Kumar (left) and other members of his family also attended the event. Devlina spoke about being a fan of the Mahanayak and shared how she has been gifted the harmonium Uttam Kumar possessed
Following the tradition of this annual programme in which technicians who worked with Uttam Kumar are offered financial and medical assistance, this year Kartik Mondal (top) and Gour Karmakar (above) received support. Singer Indranil Sen and mayoral council member Debasish Kumar felicitated them. Debasish Kumar is also the president of the committee
While Saikat Mitra (top) received an encore from the audience as he enthralled them with father Shyamal Mitra’s ‘Bondhu amar chole gechhe’ and ‘Gaane bhuban bhoriye debo’ (‘Deya Neya’); Indranil Sen (above), who sang a little later in the evening, had the audience actively participating during his performance. Indranil sang songs like ‘Aguner poroshmoni’ — a Tagore classic, and and ‘Asha chhilo bhalobasha chhilo’ (Ananda Ashram)
The evening also had performances by well-known singers Manomay Bhattacharya (top) and Srikanta Acharya (above). Manomay sang ‘Ami jamini tumi sashi he’ (‘Antony Firingee’) and ‘Eto alo’ (‘Alo Amar Alo’), and Srikanta added more melody to the evening with iconic songs like ‘Surer akashe’ (‘Shapmochon’) and ‘Neer chhoto khoti nei’ (‘Indrani’)
Lopamudra Mitra (top) and Shampa Kundu (above) were also present on the occasion. The two powerful singers made the musical evening even more special with their melodious voices. Shampa sang ‘Gaane mor kon indradhanu’ (‘Agnipariksha’), Lopamudra sang ‘Amar bichar tumi koro’, Rabindrasangeet used in the film ‘Bicharak’
Budding singers Sispiya Banerjee, Arkadeep Mishra, Arfin Rana made the evening special with their musical prowess and shared love for Uttam Kumar. Arkadeep and Arfin’s ‘Ei to jeebon’ (‘Ogo bodhu sundari’) jugalbandi was the highlight of the evening
The event was houseful. People from all age groups came together to remember Uttam Kumar, singing along without missing a beat or skipping a line and guessing songs from the very first note. The fans will again come together on September 3 to celebrate the birth anniversary of the cine legend
