Legends
Born To Be A Perfectionist – Uttam Kumar
He is known as the Mahanayak of the Indian cinema and a perfectionist who is and has been the torch bearer for all those who wants to earn success in the field of acting. He is the great versatile Uttam Kumar who has made an unforgettable contribution to the Indian cinema as a perfect actor, a director, a singer, a music composer and a producer. He became the idol to be followed in the Bengali film industry and took its standard to another level of fame and success.
This legend was born on 3rd September, 1926 in a Bengali family in Kolkata. Kumar made his first step towards acting by enacting in dramas. He did not have a successful beginning in the film industry and thought of taking his footsteps back to the work at Calcutta Port. But with the support of his wife Gouri Chatterjee he continued to struggle in the Bengali film industry and his perseverance gave way to the movie Agni – Pariksha (1954) which came as a breakthrough for the actor. The movie established the saga of Uttam – Suchitra pair whose romance on screen became the talk of the industry. The pair broke away with the conventional style in Bengali movies and brought a tinge of freshness with more contemporary themes.
The superstar of Bengali cinema, Kumar rose as a new hero of the time shattering away the traditional image of the male protagonist on the screen and thereby being more natural in his style in presenting the character. Known for his effortless acting the actor gave smashing hits performing with top actresses like Suchitra Sen, Supriya Choudhary, Sabitri Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen and many more.
In his massive acting career, Satyajit Ray’s Nayak stands out as one of the most notable movies. The role of Arindam Mukherjee mirrored the life of the actor. So genuine was performance of the actor that many people felt that that script was written with particularly Kumar in director’s mind. The duo of Ray and Kumar recreated their magic with the movie Chiriyakhana in 1967.
Kumar has in his credit to win the first ever National award for Best Actor category for the movies Antony Firangee and Chiriyakhana in 1967. A person, who will be always remembered for the change he brought in Bengali film industry, tried his hand behind the screen as a director, singer, composer and a producer. Harana Sur, Saptapadi are some of his successful ventures in this arena.
His talents knew no boundaries. Along with his successful story in the book of Bengali cinema, Kumar made a big name in Bollywood as well with hits like Chhoti Si Mulaqat, Amanush, Anand Ashram, Kitaab and many more. A true actor, Kumar did not leave acting till his last breath. In fact he died of a heart attack in 1954 at the age of 54, while doing the movie Ogo Bodhu Shundori.
Tarun Kumar, youngest brother of Uttam Kumar, too made a notable name as an actor and gave hits with his brother. The duo worked together for Saptapadi, Sonar Harin, Maya Mriga, Sesh Anka, Deya Neya, Jeeban-Mrityu and many more.
Uttam Kumar is a name which is immortal in the history of Indian cinema and he is still considered as the pioneer of acting. The dedicated actor has a repertoire of 217 movies in his record including Hindi and Bengali movies. He is a sheer inspiration to the younger generation in the industry and is the definition of a real actor.
Here sharing some soulful songs of the actor which made its way into the Bollywood hit numbers.
A combination which cannot be missed tops the list in this category. The duo of Uttam Kumar and Kishore Kumar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=643S5y_E6Zo
A song from the movie Chhoti Si Mulaqat, a movie produced by the actor himself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcvG_sk6doc
Yet again Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore creating magic on screen for the movie Anand Ashram
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNL8zhQf4xY
The magic continued with the movie Dooriyan
