Veteran Bengali actor Manoj Mitra dies at 86

Famous Bengali theatre and film personality Manoj Mitra, known for writing and directing farces and fantasies that highlighted social and political issues, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday, 12 November, due to old age-related ailments, family sources said.

Mitra was 86.

According to a doctor, Mitra breathed his last at around 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday.

"He was admitted to the hospital on 3 November with several illnesses. His condition kept on deteriorating and today, at around 8:50 a.m., he left us," the doctor told PTI.

The octogenarian was earlier admitted to hospital on 20 September with breathing issues and an imbalance of sodium and potassium levels, among other health-related issues, doctors said. He was discharged from the hospital at the end of September after treatment.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her grief over the passing of Mitra, and described it as an irreplaceable loss to Bengali cinema and theatre.

‘Saddened by the demise of the famous actor, director and playwright, 'Banga Bibhushan' Manoj Mitra today morning,' she posted on X.

'He had been a leading personality in our theatre and film worlds and his contributions have been immense. I convey my condolences to his family, friends and admirers,' she added.

West Bengal education minister and actor (also a theatre personality himself) Bratya Basu, in a social media post, traced Mitra's illustrious career and offered his deep condolences to the bereaved family and his countless followers, per PTI.

Veteran playwright and actor Arun Mukhopadhyay described his contemporary Manoj Mitra as a leading light in a unique genre of Bengali theatre, which was populist, entertaining and yet had social message. He was also equally versatile in the alternative group theatre genre, "onyo dharar natok", Mukhopadhyay said.

"Manoj was versatile, and such people are leaving us without their places being filled," he said.

Young Theatre personality and actor Sohini Sengupta said, "I recall so many memories of adda sessions attended by him, in which my parents and many others would present."

"At times he had differences with my father, Rudraprasad Sengupta, on the issues of theatre — which is natural between two creative personalities and that would never come in the way of their bonding," she said.

"Such a stalwart will never come back again. Though Manoj-kaku was ailing and had been in critical condition several times in the past, yet his death is a rude jolt," she said.

Theatre personality–director Debesh Chattopadhyay said Manoj Mitra had sometime back been part of one of his theatre productions and delivered an incredible performance.

"He hailed from Satkhira in Bangladesh like me. I have lost a guardian. I remember how he embraced me during our last meet at Kalyani two years back and insisted on taking a selfie together," Chattopadhyay said.

The West Bengal government's information and cultural affairs department said in a statement that Mitra's body would be kept at the state-run Rabindra Sadan complex from 3:00 p.m. to enable people to pay their last respects.

Famous for his stellar performance in Tapan Sinha's film Banchharamer Bagan, Mitra also acted in legendary director Satyajit Ray's classics, including Ghare Baire and Ganashatru. Bancharamer Bagan was based on Mitra's play Sajano Bagaan.

Known for his comic and antagonist roles, Mitra also acted in films by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Basu Chatterjee, Tarun Majumdar, Shakti Samanta and Goutam Ghose.