New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- In a very popular scene from Satyajit Ray's 'Nayak' (1966), Arindam Mukherjee, played by Uttam Kumar, speaks to his roommate (Nirmal Ghosh) about his experience of working with senior actor Mukunda Lahiri (Bireswar Sen). Arindam is agitated. All his scenes with Lahiri, he says, have been spoiled.
"An actor knows. When I was acting, I could feel that something wasn't right," he says. His roommate reminds him that there are only four scenes between him and Lahiri. But Arindam isn't convinced. He argues that Lahiri could understand that he had prepared for the scene and would perform well in front of him and therefore could not take it. He criticises Lahiri's performance, insisting that 'this is not film acting' and that one cannot be 'overdramatic' in front of the camera. His roommate laughs at Arindam's tendency to be excessively self-critical and suggests that this very quality will work in his favour and help him shine. Arindam responds with sudden, emphatic confidence. "Of course, I will. I will go to the top, the top. the top," repeatedly pounding his fist as he says it.
What makes the scene iconic is that Ray is not simply showing a successful star being arrogant. He is revealing the psychological contradiction within Arindam, a struggling actor who is judging his own acting, worrying about how he appears on screen and comparing himself with other actors. Anyone who has watched this scene in 'Nayak' can resonate with every word Uttam utters. And that is because, in Arindam, we have always seen Uttam, the man behind the star - an actor who was intensely aware of his craft, fiercely ambitious and never entirely satisfied with himself. And perhaps, that is precisely why he remains the Mahanayak.
Here was a boy born Arun Kumar Chatterjee on September 3, 1926, at his maternal home at 51 Ahiritola Street in north Kolkata. His father was a film projectionist at Metro Cinema. Uttam, a name given to him by his maternal grandfather, was not particularly liked by his mother, who preferred to call him Arun. He made his debut with 'Drishtidan' in 1948, but his journey was far from easy. The film and his next six releases failed at the box office, earning him the tag 'Flop Master General'.
Sripurna Sanyasi, the spiritual master of his maternal family, had predicted that the entire country would recognise him by the name 'Uttam'. Sanyasi saw his smile. The smile that still drives Bengalis crazy, 100 years on.
That prediction began to come true in 1952 with Nirmal Dey's 'Basu Paribar', also starring Sabitri Chatterjee, Supriya Devi and Bhanu Banerjee. In 1953, he starred opposite Suchitra Sen in 'Sharey Chuattar'. The film became a superhit and audiences instantly fell in love with the pairing. Uttam had arrived. Soon, every director wanted to cast the duo, who went on to become one of the most successful screen couples in Bengali cinema ever.
For Bengalis, Uttam is not merely a matinee idol. He is a part of the Bengali psyche and cultural identity. He defined the very idea of the Bengali hero and became an actor for all ages. Whether playing romantic leads, morally complex characters or villains, he possessed a rare ability to mesmerise audiences with his charm while remaining firmly in command of his craft. It is said that Ray wrote 'Nayak' specifically with Uttam in mind and that he would have abandoned the project altogether if the star had turned it down.
Bengal never got another actor quite like Uttam. In 'Jadubansha', Ganada made us cry. In 'Saptapadi', his Krishnendu made us fall madly in love with him. In 'Bagh Bondi Khela', his Bhavesh Banerjee made us despise him. In 'Thana Theke Aschhi', his morally ambiguous, sharp-witted cop Tinkori Haldar engrossed us. Be it as Byomkesh, the football fanatic in 'Dhonnyi Meye', the emotionally wounded man trapped in a failing marriage in 'Jatugriha' or the lonely and vulnerable businessman Ananga Dutta in 'Nishipadma', Bengal got an actor who simply could not be bracketed. His romantic films were, of course, a staple of Bengali cinema and regularly became blockbusters. But Uttam never allowed his romantic image to become the limit of his acting. He kept pushing himself towards characters that revealed his remarkable range.
National Award-winning 'Mayurakshi' director Atanu Ghosh believes Uttam was quick to understand that his romantic image could not be the end of his range as an actor. "In 1959, a young Uttam acted in Prabhat Mukherjee's 'Bicharak'. By that time, he was already a bankable star with films like 'Agni Pariksha', 'Sagarika' and 'Harano Sur' having been released. In that sense, there is no romanticism in 'Bicharak' and Uttam played a judge. But he was willing to challenge himself and went ahead," said Ghosh.
The 'Binisutoy' director also believes Uttam had very different styles of film acting that existed side by side throughout his career. "On one hand, he was doing romantic films like 'Harano Sur', 'Saptapadi' and then there were psychologically complex works such as 'Ekhane Pinjar' and 'Nagar Darpane'. He equally excelled in comedy films like 'Dhonnyi Meye', 'Mouchak' and 'Ogo Bodhu Sundari'. Uttam was a very modern actor and in a true sense, the revolution that took place all over the world in film acting at that time, he was truly a representative of that in the Indian context," said Ghosh.
Acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Indrasis Acharya, known for 'Bilu Rakkhosh', 'Pupa' and 'The Parcel', believes Uttam was far ahead of his contemporaries. He says the actor consciously used his nuances, emphasising the very qualities that made him distinctive - his smile, the rotational angle of his neck and his ability to present the perfect profile from the cinematographer's perspective. Uttam, he believes, was acutely aware of every inch of his body.
"He was very much a technical actor with a high emotional quotient. He understood how to use his body parts well in acting. He used his hands, his posture, his walk and of course, his smile well to fit into every character he did. Also, he was a very observant actor. Therefore, when he is playing a doctor in 'Agnishwar', you would like to believe him," he said.
Uttam became the face of contemporary, aspiring Bengali youth. But this was a very different kind of youth, one who cried, who was flawed and vulnerable (both on screen and off screen). We live in an age where Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the buzzwords, where attention spans are measured in 30-second reels and where toxic masculinity is both challenged offline and celebrated on the big screen. For generations of Bengalis, Uttam still embodies the ideal Bengali man. Even today, one finds women swooning over his dhoti-clad gentleman, the vulnerable romantic hero who listened, cried and allowed himself to be wounded. That remains a rarity in cinema. He respected Suchitra Sen's talent and agreed to have her name appear alongside his on-film credits and publicity posters even before his.
"Our mental conditioning is that men can't cry. But then came Uttam Kumar, a romantic lead who cried, who was real and humane. He presented an alternative vision of masculinity. He was the romantic hero of everyday middle-class Bengali life. And therefore, the continuous love for him continues," said young filmmaker Arjunn Dutta, whose recent film 'Deep Fridge' won a National Award.
Today, stardom and success can be manufactured through algorithms, trends and social media metrics. Uttam needed none of them. He delivered hits after his death too (many of his films were released after he passed away on July 24, 1980). His stardom is a legacy. In 'Basanta Bilap' (1973), starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen, there is a dialogue in which Chinmoy Roy asks actress Shibani Bose to praise him with the words, "Ek bar bolo Uttam Kumar." We say, 'Baar baar bolo Uttam Kumar'. Happy birthday, Mahanayak.
Beyond The Stars
· Born on September 3, 1926, at his maternal home situated at 51 Ahiritola Street in North Kolkata
· His father, Satkari Chattopadhyay, was a film projectionist in Metro Cinema
· In 1936, he founded a theatre group called Lunar Club, along with his friends, whose first production was Rabindranath Tagore's 'Mukut'
· After graduation, he joined Calcutta Port Trust as a clerk in the cash department, with a monthly salary of Rs 275
· He was a swimming champion at the Bhowanipur Swimming Association three years in a row
· He was called 'Flop Master General' after his successive flops at the early stage of his career
· In 1953, he starred opposite Suchitra Sen in 'Sharey Chuattar' for the first time
· As a skilled footballer, Kumar used to play in the right-back position and was a lifelong Mohun Bagan supporter
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.