Kolkata, Aug 7 (PTI) The West Bengal government has constituted a high-level advisory committee to oversee year-long celebrations marking the birth centenary of legendary Bengali actor Uttam Kumar, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari named its chief patron, according to an official notification.
The notification said veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs Purnima Chakraborty have been appointed co-patrons of the committee.
Filmmaker Sandip Ray will head the panel as chairman, while actor Prosenjit Chatterjee has been named executive chairman.
Information and Cultural Affairs Department Secretary Soumitra Mohan will serve as the member-secretary and coordinate the planning and implementation of the year-long programme, a senior state official said on Friday.
The advisory committee includes Bengali actors Jeet, Dev, Abir Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Rituparna Sengupta, Rudranil Ghosh, Roopa Ganguly and Gaurav Chatterjee, along with prominent filmmakers Srijit Mukherji and Kaushik Ganguly, among others, it added.
The state government plans to organise a series of events over the next year, including film festivals, special screenings of Uttam Kumar’s films, seminars, exhibitions, publication of commemorative volumes and cultural programmes to celebrate his life and legacy, the official said.
The objective of the committee is to introduce younger generations to Uttam Kumar’s contribution to Indian cinema and ensure that the celebrations commemorate the enduring legacy of one of the industry’s most iconic actors, the notification said.
Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee on September 3, 1926, Uttam Kumar was widely regarded as Bengali cinema’s greatest matinee idol. He acted in more than 200 films, including Satyajit Ray’s acclaimed ‘Nayak’, and received multiple national honours during his career. He died on July 24, 1980. PTI SUS MNB
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