This award is different: Soumitra Chatterjee

KOLKATA: Soumitra Chatterjee was on his way back from the Purple Movie Town studio where he was shooting for Gautam Ghose's "Shesh Anka" when somebody called to tell him that he has been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke. The veteran, who had called it a day prematurely for he was not feeling well, quickly drove back to his Golf Green residence. Even though congratulatory messages and calls poured in, Soumitra refused to meet anyone.He interacted with the press briefly before leaving for a prior invitation and spent a quiet evening with his family.
"I have received several state awards. I have accepted them because I didn't want to dishearten people who love me. But honestly, I have never had much faith in them. But Dadasaheb Phalke is different. This award is a prestigious one. It is highest form of recognition in Indian cinema. This makes me realize that I have walked the right path in my 54-year career," said Soumitra .
He also paid a rich tribute to his mentor Satyajit Ray. "I owe my acting existence to Satyajit Ray. Whatever I am today is all because of him. I have learnt from him and couldn't help but think of him when I got the news," he said. Chatterjee added that many of his contemporaries and seniors deserved the award but had missed out. "Many like Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Tulsi Chakraborty, Chhabi Biswas and Tapan Sinha should have been given the award. They were greats who missed out. So, I dedicate my award to them as well," said the actor.
"It is rather difficult to discover me through my movies. The easier approach is to read my poems," added the actor-poet