| Uttamkumar |
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| Uttamkumar or Arun Kumar Chatterjee as he was known at that time was born in Calcutta on September 3, 1926. He passed Matriculation Examination from South Suburban School and got admitted into Goenka College, but he could not complete graduation. He took a clerical job in Calcutta Port Commissioners. Born into a middle-class family, he made his way up through hard work and perseverance. |
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| Uttamkumar was always interested in doing films. His first film was Mayador in 1947 in Hindi which never got released. His first released movie was Dristidaan directed by Nitin Basu in 1948. This was followed by Kamna, Maryada, Ore Jatri etc. but these films were all flops. He earned the nickname of "flop-master-general" in the circles of Tollygunge film studios. But it was the 1953 film Shaare Chuattor that turned the tide. This film saw Suchitra Sen for the first time and then till today Uttam Suchitra was the best romantic duo that the Bengali film industry has ever produced. Casting Uttamkumar and Suchitra Sen as the hero and heroine was an instant box office success formula. |
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| For a brief time he acted in professional theatre also. In 1955, he took part in the drama Shyamali at the Star Theatre. But his main prowess was in the fims - the Uttam Suchitra combination brought a different dimension in Bengali movies. Hit after hit followed - Agniparikhkha, Harano Sur, Indrani, Pathe Holo Deri, Chaoa Paoa etc. His acting in Satyajit Ray's movie Nayak was remarkable. He also starred in another Ray movie - Chiriakhana. He was awrded the Bharat award for the film and it was also previewed in the Berlin Film festival. |
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| Besides Suchitra Sen - Uttamkumar was also vastly successful with other heriones as well. Sabitri Chatterjee, Sandhya Ray, Mala Sinha, Arundhati Mukherjee, Madhabai Chakraborty, Tanuja, Anjana Bhowmick, Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen have all played heriones to this charismatic matinee idol. They have given the Bengali cinema mad public a garland of memorable hits like Mayamriga, Bandhu, Marutirtha Hinglaj, Jhinder Bandi, Rajkumari, Chowringhee, Anthony Firingee, Shankhabela, Chadmabeshi etc. |
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| A great chapter in Uttamkumar's life was his onvolvement with Supriya Devi. The pair was first seen in the film Basu Paribar but it later flared up as a full fledged romance in real life. In fact Uttamkumar left his home to stay with Supriya at her Moira Street residence. |
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| Utamkumar acted in a number of Hindi films as well. The notable aming them was Chotisi Mulaqat, Plot No. 5, Dooriyan, Deshpremee etc. A great hiot of his were the double version films of Shakti Samanta like Amanush and Ananda Ashram. Uttamkumar’s popularity started from the decade of sixties. Many researchers in the post-Uttam era are bent on finding out the reasons behind his popularity. Actually, he was a living melange of being an affable person next door, a strong personality, and above all, a deep understanding of the aspirations of middle-class. No wonder ladies would swoon over, whenever he appeared on screen. He managed to become a symbol of illusion of the middle-class. Those who derided his abilities now praise him. He passed away on 24th July 1980. |
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| You may click on http://www.calcuttaweb.com/cinema/uttam.htm for more pictures and film clips. |
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| A chronolgy of the films of Uttamkumar. |
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| The views in these pages are solely mine |
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