Reputable cinematographer and theatre personality Goutam Halder died after a heart attack on Friday morning. He was 67 at the time of his death.
According to family sources, it was decided that he would be taken to the hospital as he suddenly felt ill on Friday morning. But he could not be saved and he died on way to the hospital.
Actress Vidya Balan played her debut role in the film ‘Bhalo Theko’, released in 2003. Veteran actress Rakhi Gulzar had played the protagonist.
Vidya Balan, who acted in Goutam Halder’s Bhalo Theko, Chaiti Ghosal, who plays Nandini in Halder’s Raktakarabi on stage, at the filmmaker’s Salt Lake home on Friday evening. Photo: Ashim Paul
Halder was a companion of Vidya at Kalighat and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on October 13 and 14, respectively. Vidya Balan was the heroine of his first film.
“It’s a bit of a personal loss for me. He was a very good friend of my parents and more like a guardian,” said actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay, who also acted in ‘Bhalo Theko’, alongside Joy Sengupta and Vidya Balan.
Apart from directing films, Halder was connected to the theatre world. He had directed aroung 80 plays in his career.
“It is a loss for the fraternity and a black day”, said actor and theatre personality Riddhi Sen.