Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee was put on ventilator support as his condition worsened further on Monday evening, doctors said.

Chatterjee’s health condition further deteriorated late in the evening and oxygen support is less than 40 per cent, said the spokesperson of the private hospital in the city where he has been admitted.

The 85-year-old actor's haemoglobin has gone down as has his platelet count, the spokesperson said. "We had to protect his airways. At 3 pm, we put him on ventilation support... His oxygen support is less than 40 per cent, and there were increasing chances of aspiration and secondary pneumonia.

"He is not that well. His health condition has definitely deteriorated. The medical board took a unanimous decision to protect his airway, and we did it by putting him on endotracheal intubation," the spokesperson said in a late-night audio statement.

According to doctors, endotracheal intubation is a medical procedure in which a tube is placed into the windpipe through the mouth or nose.

The spokesperson said, "Due to gastrointestinal bleeding and dehydration, his kidney functions which were fine till morning are now taking a toll. His urea and creatinine are also not good. His urine output is also not satisfactory."

The critically acclaimed actor was admitted to the hospital on October 6 after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Chatterjee, a Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, and the first Indian film personality to be conferred with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's highest civilian award, had tested negative for the infection last week after which he was shifted to a non-COVID ITU.