Remembering Uttam Kumar on his 42nd death anniversary

Perhaps the most popular and evergreen Bengali matinee idol ever, Uttam Kumar was remembered on his 42nd death anniversary with a cultural programme organised by Sristi Dance Academy at The Stadel, Salt Lake. It commenced with a performance by the dance institute’s differently-abled students. Other students of Sristi Dance Academy presented a choreographic recreation of Amader chhuti, from Uttam Kumar’s cult-hit Joy Jayanti. An audio-visual retelling of the legendary actor’s life followed. Touching tributes were paid to the superstar in the form of a shraddhanjali in which veteran actresses Lily Chakraborty, Ratna Ghoshal, Kalyani Mondal, music arranger Tochon Ghosh and Shilpi Sangsad secretary Sadhan Bagchi shared rare anecdotes, unknown stories and memories about the Mahanayak by recounting their personal experiences. They were then felicitated by Indrani Ganguly, owner- founder of Sristi Dance Academy, and Samiran Banik, who planned the event. Sujit Bose, state fire-services minister, was also felicitated. The programme was anchored by Satinath Mukherjee. “For us, July 24 is a day of collective remembrance. It is the day we lost our Mahanayak 42 years ago, but it is also the day Sristi Dance Academy turned 20. And what better way to celebrate the occasion than through an evening paying tribute to the greatest Bengali movie star of all time,” said Ganguly.