In the midst of the coronavirus / Kung Flu / Chinavirus, I missed thinking of and noting the 40th death anniversary of the late, great Uttam Kumar, which was a couple of days ago. The word ‘great’ is often loosely used without necessary care and regard, it's not a word one should use lightly. However, in Uttam Kumar’s case; it’s use is completely justified, even imperative; as he was the biggest star the Bengali movie industry has ever produced.
I remember watching his old movie reruns at nondescript movie halls like Alaya (still remember I used to pick up old books at the crossing of Fern St and Rash Behari Av prior to entering the movie hall) and Bunty (not far from the old Garia bus stand) as a young, school going brat in cosmopolitan Calcutta before the city transformed into a narrow minded version of itself as a Mamta-ruled Kolkata, the Mamta I’ve used here is the proper noun & not the adjective to denote kindness and empathy in both Hindi and Bengali!.
Uttam was an effortless actor, holding his own opposite the co-stars of his era - Soumitra, Chhabi Biswas, Anil Chatterjee and others. While most of my family members were fans of Soumitra Chatterjee, the other great Bengali star of the sixties; for me, it was always Uttam, always debonair, smart, stylish, suave, especially when he played the anti-hero (not often I must say) in Sesh Anka opposite a demure Sharmila Tagore, which was loosely based on To Chase a crooked shadow. And in Baghabondi Khela (1975) the normally charming Uttam played the role of a crooked debauch with aplomb. His onscreen pairing with the gorgeous Suchitra Sen in movies like Saptapadi (1961) shot lovingly in black & white was amazing, in which the song ‘E Poth jodi na shesh hoi’ remains a clarion call for young sweethearts in Bengal after 60 years of its release! But the defining Uttam for me will remain the mischievous middle aged, elder brother to a young Ranjit Mullick in the classic comedy Mouchak (1974)!
A couple of his days after his 40th death anniversary & on a Sunday evening in Sydney, I found one of his classics on Youtube and took pleasure in the watching the subtle talents of Uttam Kumar as Prasanta Roy / Hriday Horon opposite a young and beautiful Tanuja in Deye Neya (1963). I once again ruminated on what a classy actor Uttam was especially when compared to a usually staid Rajesh Khanna who played the same role a decade later in a Hindi remake - Anurodh (1977)! Time fell off and I was once again transported to Alaya where I had watched a rerun of this movie as a 14 year old boy!
Once again, Charming, Classy Calcutta played host to the suave, stylish Uttam, only this time it was in my fertile imagination!
