Chatterjee, Soumitra

CHATTERJEE, Soumitra

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Nationality: Indian. Born: 1934. Education: Studied acting with Ahindra Choudhury. Career: Amateur actor with Sisir Kumar Bahaduri; 1954—entered films; 1959—first film for the director Satyajit Ray, Apur Sansar ; 1962—co-editor of literary magazine Eksham.

Films as Actor:

1959

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Apurba Kumar Roy)

1960

Devi (The Goddess ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Uma Prasad); Kshudista Pashan (Tapan Sinha)

1961

"Samapti" ep. of Teen Kanya (Two Daughters ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Amulya); Swaralipi ; Swayambara ; Jhinder Bandi ; Punashcha

1962

Abhijan (The Expedition ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Narsingh); Shasti ; Atal Jaler Ahwan ; Agun ; Banarasi

1963

Saat Pake Bandha (Ajoy Kar); Shesh Prahar ; Barnali

1964

Charulata (The Lonely Wife ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Amal); Pratinidhi ; Kinu Goyalar Gali ; Ayananta

1965

Baksha Badal ; Ek Tuku Basa ; Raj Kanya ; Kapurush-o-Mahapurush (The Coward and the Holy Man ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Amitabha Roy); Akash Kusum (Mrinal Sen); Eki Ange Eto Rup

1966

Joradighir Choudhury Paribar ; Kanch Kata Hirey (Ajoy Kar); Manihar

1967

Ajana Shapath ; Hathat Dekha ; Mahashweta ; Prastar Swakshar

1968

Baghini ; Parishodh

1969

Aparichita ; Chena Achena ; Parineeta ; Teen Bhubhaner Parey

1970

Aranyar din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Ashim); Aleyar Alo ; Padmagolap ; Pratham Kadam Phool

1971

Khunje Berai ; Malayadaan ; Sansar

1972

Jiban Saikate ; Natun Diner Alo ; Stree ; Basanta Bilap ; Bilet Pherat

1973

Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Gamgacharan Chakravarti); Epar Opar ; Nishi Kanya ; Shesh Pristhay Dekhun ; Agni Bhraman

1974

Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Felu); Asati ; Jadi Jantem ; Sangini ; Chhutir Phande

1975

Nishi Mrigaya ; Sansar Simantey (Majumdar); Sudur Niharika

1976

Datta ; Nandita

1977

Babu Moshai ; Mantramugdha ; Pratima

1978

Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Felu); Nadi Theke Sagare ; Ganadevata (Majumdar); Job Charnaker Bibi ; Pronoy Pasha

1979

Devdas ; Nauka Dubi

1980

Darpachurna ; Gharer Baire Ghar ; Hirak Rajar Deshe (The Kingdom of Diamonds ) (Satyajit Ray—for TV) (as Pandit Moshai); Pankhiraj

1981

Father ; Nyay Anyay ; Khelar Putul

1982

Preyasi ; Matir Swarga ; Agradani ; Simanta Raag

1983

Indira ; Chena Achena ; Amar Geeti

1984

Achena Mukh ; Kony ; Lal Golap ; Ghare Baire (The Home and the World ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Sandip Mukherjee); Vasundhara (Sekhar Chatterjee)

1985

Baikunther Will ; Tagori ; Sandhya Pradeep

1986

Urbashe ; Shyam Saheb

1987

Atanka (Sinha); Raj Purush ; Nyay Adhikar ; Sukumar Ray

1988

Ekti Jiban (Mitra) (as Gurudas); Nuit Bengali (Bengali Night ) (Klotz) (as Narendra Sen); Channachara ; Agaman ; Agni Sanket ; Agun ; Debibaran ; Anjali ; Pratik

1989

Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Dr. Ashok Gupta); Maryada ; Jankar ; Amar Shapath

1990

Shakha Proshakha (Branches of the Tree ) (Satyajit Ray) (as Proshanto); Manasi ; Ekhane Amar Swarga ; Apon Amar Apon

1992

Mahaprithivi (as Father)

1994

Uttoran (The Broken Journey ) (Sandip Ray) (as Dr. Sengupta)

2000

Paromitar Ek Din (House of Memories ) (Sen)

Publications

By CHATTERJEE: articles—

Interview in "Satyajit Ray Issue" of Montage (Bombay). "Soumitra Chatterjee et Sandip Ray," interview with E. Decaux and others, in Cinématographe (Paris), June 1985.

"A Joining of Ways," interview with D. Chaterji, in Cinema in India (Bombay), vol. 3, no. 2, 1989.

Interview with B. Datta, in Cinema in India (Bombay), vol. 3, no. 1, 1992.

On CHATTERJEE: articles—

Valot, J., "Soumitra Chatterjee: apu et les autres . . . ," in Revue du Cinéma (Paris), December 1988.

Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen, in Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, New Dehli, 1994.

* * *

Soumitra Chatterjee's name as an actor cannot be evoked without recalling the films of Satyajit Ray, almost as if Chatterjee were synonymous with the Apu trilogy, although he appeared in his first film role only in the final part of the trilogy, as the grown Apu in Apu Sansar. Ray is renowned for being a consistently sensitive director of actors, and Chatterjee became a particular favorite, his chief asset undoubtedly being a naturally sensitive appearance. Robin Wood, in his book on the Apu Trilogy, says that his beauty, which is "at once physical and spiritual, seems an ideal incarnation of Ray's belief in human potential."

Chatterjee had some theatrical experience before his first film role, and subsequently became a star in numerous films made by other directors, mainly in the Bengali cinema. While the memory of his performances in those films has faded, the roles he has played in Ray's films—as the husband in Devi, the suitor with tartan socks in Teen Kanya, the thinly veiled portrait of Rabindranath Tagore in Charulata, the arrogant leader in Aranyar din Ratri, or the revolutionary in the more recent Ghare Baire —have left a lasting impression. Chatterjee's last collaborations with Ray have also been impressive, such as in Ganashatru, where Chatterjee, as Dr. Ashok Gupta, emotionalizes the conflicting pulls of the beliefs of the orthodox society, and the mechanics of modern science, where eventually no one is the winner. And in Uttoran, the last script penned by Satyajit Ray and directed by his son Sandip Ray, the talents of Soumitra Chatterjee are showcased, again. He brings a new depth to the character of Dr. Sengupta, the cardiologist, who is cosmopolitan in living and outlook. Satyajit Ray's intention of making a commentary on modern medicine losing the values of humaneness, was realized by the complexity that Chatterjee brought to the portrayal. When the doctor is stuck in a village due to a flat tire, his experiences change his outlook. Drawn irrevocably into the life of a sick peasant and his family, the doctor decides it is time for him to do a good deed. It is Chatterjee's talents that makes us question if this conventional climax is an end at all, or only a beginning.

Indian actors and actresses have often been accused of onedimensional performance, either heroic or villainous, with no subtlety of nuance or gesture. It is a tradition inherited from the theatrical origins of Indian cinema, whereas Ray's cinema, imbibing the values of his colonial overlords and firmly rooted within the tradition of Western humanism, set out to create psychologically rounded characters and thus changed the whole style of cinema acting in India. According to Chatterjee, "Ray's films brought about a real change from the acting point of view—actors began trying to be cinema actors. I didn't know what to do when Mr. Ray first asked me. I didn't know the real difference between stage and screen acting." He seemed to have quickly mastered the difference, for Ray regularly returned to Chatterjee with more and more challenging roles.

—Behroze Gandhy, updated by Usha Venkatachallam