VETERAN Tollywood actor Manu Mukherjee passes away at 90

Manu Mukherjee, the senior-most film and TV actor personality of Bengal, has passed away following a protracted illness at  Kolkata where he was born 90 years ago. His son-in-law Jayant Sardar said he had been suffering from geriatric diseases for several years. He was bedridden for the past four years due to waist problems. There were also heart problems. He died at his home on Sunday, December 6. He was inspired by his father Amarendranath Mukherjee who was also involved with acting at a  theatre in the metropolis. Manu Mukherjee was one of the oldest actors in the world, still actively playing major and minor roles in Bengali television’s soaps and operas. Manu started acting at a young age, and his first character was to portray the role of a wife at a neighbourhood club’s play He joined the Srirangam Theatre renamed as Bishwarupa Movie Theatre since 2001 as a prompter in 1957. He also worked in other famous theatres from the late sixties onwards such as Sarkarina, Sujata Sadan, Minerva, Bishwanath Mancha, Rangmahal, and Star theatre. His first notable part was when he had to act as an artist in the play Khudha opposite then famed character actor Kali Bandyopadhyay. He introduced him to internationally known filmmaker Mrinal Sen. He came into the limelight for his performance in Mrinal Sen directed NIL AKASHER NICHHEY (Under the Blue Sky). It was released in 1959. Later, he had worked with Oscar-Winning director Satyajit  Ray and other movie makers. Cine lovers recall his performances in Mrigaya, Joybaba Felunath, Ganashatru, Saheb, Pratidan and several other  Bengali films. This veteran actor has been seen regularly on the small screen. He is survived among others by his son Subhasish Mukherjee or Subhasish Mukhopadhyay , a Tollywood actor, two daughters and their family members. He was also trained as a Tabla player by the famous Tabla player Krishnakumar Ganguly also known as Natubabu. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has condoled his demise saying  ‘’Saddened at the passing away of veteran theatre and film actor Manu Mukherjee. We conferred on him the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tele-Samman Awards 2015. My condolences to his family, colleagues and admirers’’. edited by @Chakravartypk