Veteran Bengali actor Pradip Mukherjee, who played the role of the protagonist in Satyajit Ray’s Jana Aranya (The Middleman), set in a politically surcharged Kolkata of 1960s, died in a hospital in Kolkata, as reported by his family.
Mukherjee, 76 – who left behind his wife, a son and a daughter-was admitted to a private hospital three days ago, due to an infection in his lungs. He was then shifted to a state-run hospital on Sunday, said the actor’s family, adding that his condition worsened there and that he passed away at 8:15am Monday.
Mukherjee acted in over 40 films-including Hirer Angti (The Diamond Ring, 1992) by Rituparno Ghosh and Mondo Meyer Upakkhyan (A Tale of a Naughty Girl, 2002) by Buddhadeb Dasgupta. But it was Mukherjee’s debut film, Jana Aranya (1976), which propelled him to fame.
In the movie, the actor essays the role of Somnath, a young man who is looking for a job, but is forced to join the world of business.
The film also features a memorable performance by the legendary Utpal Datta as Bishuda.
Mukherjee also acted in Satyajit Ray’s Shakha Prasakha and Sandip Ray’s Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy, Badshahi Angti and Gorosthane Sabdhan.
His only Hindi film was Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahani 2: Durga Rani Singh (2016). Director Nirmal Chakraborty had recently cast Mukherjee in his period film Datta, which is based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s eponymous novel.
