Uttam Kumar death anniversary: Revisiting the Mahanayak’s timeless classics

Being an ordinary clerk in the Calcutta Port Commission, Uttam Kumar’s early efforts on-screen fall into such bad weather that he seriously thought of packing up and returning to his 9-to-5 routine! Interestingly, fate had some other plans. His brand of charismatic acting, in a world dominated by “theatrics” brought a heavy storm of fresh air to the new cinema-literate generation at that time. It’s been 42 years without Uttam, but a lot of sweet memories persist: The charming figure whose mesmerizing smile used to lit up the souls and fantasies of generations of women. There are so many classics but these fantastic pieces have time and again proved his indelible mark as a great actor, not just a romantic matinee idol.

Even dirty politics become enjoyable when you have Uttam Kumar on the screen. However, his brilliant portrayal of a corrupt aspiring political leader is quite chilling to the bone. It’s also the mark of an elite actor to essay all that is related to a corrupt, lusty and greedy system. The Piyush Bose directorial reaches the climax when Vabesh, the corrupt businessman, (played by Uttam Kumar) commits suicide unrepentant till the end and instead of the wrong deeds, we feel sad for the man.

This character was no doubt ‘born’ for him. The charming superstar in the Satyajit Ray’s greatest ‘Nayak’ could not have been essayed better if not for the legendary Uttam Kumar. In a way, the protagonist Arindam Mukherjee was brought to life by the celebrated actor’s iconic figure. It is believed ‘Nayak’ was more than a celluloid fiction, it was a ‘phenomenon’.

Uttam Kumar, just like Chhabi Biswas, immortalized the role of a zamindar but this time he portrayed a benevolent landlord who was victimized in a shocking conspiracy. The Bengali classic is based on a real life incident of Bhawal Raja and Uttam Kumar’s magical performance made him a household name at that time. The story goes back to 1921. Eleven years after the zamindar of Bhawal was cremated, a sanyasi who resembled him arrived in Dhaka and claimed he is the zamindar and it became a court case that lasted for 16 years.

‘Stree’, one of the finest works of Uttam Kumar, reminds us these superb oldies can be made only once. Uttam Kumar, not in his usual romantic self, came out just the opposite in image. A drunkard Bengali zamindar without any sense of chastity – he was like unrecognizable in this negative character. Yet he bamboozled everyone with this persona. Even critics admitted only Uttam Kumar can do this. The Uttam-Soumitra movie remains a classic one and Uttam Kumar’s dialogues still haunt us.

How could anyone not trust a dashing, charming young man with such an innocent face? Who could have dreamed of an attractive, romantic Uttam Kumar being cast as a cold-blooded, manipulative antagonist! His role in ‘Shesh Anko’ will keep you on the edge till the end. An ensemble cast of Pahari Sanyal, Kamal Mitra, Sharmila Tagore, Sabitri Chatterjee, Utpal Dutt, Tarun Kumar and Bikash Roy also gave the film a cult following.

We would not have known Antony Firingee had it not been played by Uttam Kumar. The ‘firingee’ poet became synonymous to the Bengali matinee idol. In real life, Anthony Fernandez or Hensman Anthony was a Singer and Song-writer in Bengali Language of Portuguese origin. The film was an unusual story of a Portuguese poet who falls in love with Bengal and its traditional culture. Weaved with a superb heart-touching love story, Uttam Kumar gave this character a new life.