Veteran film director Tarun Majumdar passes away at 91

Kolkata: Acclaimed film director Tarun Majumdar, who is known for making movies based on compelling tales highlighting the life of middle-class families, died in a Kolkata hospital on Monday following prolonged illness, hospital authorities said.

Noted Bengali film director Tarun Majumdar's body has been donated to SSKM Hospital for medical research and education as his family has decided to fulfil his last wish. He died at around 11.17 am on Monday following a multi-organ failure. He was 91.

Majumdar was admitted to SSKM Hospital on June 14 with age-related ailments and kidney issues. He had developed "secondary infection in his lungs" following which he was shifted to the ICU on Sunday where he was put on a ventilator. As his condition deteriorated, a medical board was constituted on Monday morning. His heartbeat and pulse rate had dropped, and he had stopped responding to any treatment, a senior official from the SSKM Hospital said. A team of doctors was closely monitoring his condition as he had been "critical" since Wednesday night.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the death of the veteran director. "I express my grief at the death of noted director Tarun Majumdar. It is an irreparable loss to the film industry. I convey my condolences to his family members. Use of Rabindra Sangeet in his films mesmerize the audience," reads the press statement of the Chief Minister issued by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department.

The moment cine-lovers talk about Soumitra Chatterjee, it's inevitable that Satyajit Ray's name would come up. Quite obvious, Soumitra has worked with the Oscar winner in 14 films and almost all of them known across the world. But whenever the late legendary actor was asked about his best role, he spoke about how much he enjoyed playing the thief Aghor in Sansar Simante (1975) and Debu Pandit in Ganadevta (1978) — both films directed by Majumdar.

For him — a director, who is best remembered for films like Balika Badhu, Dadar Kirti, Shriman Prithviraj and Alo, his movies were much more than successful family dramas and romantic comedies. The last of the Mohicans of Bengali cinema after Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and Tapan Sinha, Majumdar was one director who could blend mainstream and serious content with equal ease and yield massive box office results. So, the same director who churned out Palatak (1963), Nimantran (1971), could easily bridge the rural-urban space with Bhalobasa Bhalobasa in 1985 and Alo in 2003. In fact, Alo, starring Rituparna Sengupta, went on to create history in Bengali cinema. The film, based on a short story Kinnardal by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, ran for more than eight months at theatres across Bengal.

So, for Rituparna, hearing about the demise of Majumdar on Monday at Kolkata's SSKM Hospital, was shocking. The filmmaker has been in the hospital since June 14 for age-related complications. However, last week he started responding to treatment and Rituparna, like all well-wishers, was hopeful he would return home.

Talking about his diverse subject matter, Rituparna said: "He was an institution. He gave us an entire universe of his creation. He taught us how relationships, family values and love can be discovered through his films."

Adorned with strong family values, and social commentaries, Majumdar's films had a feel-good vibe. In fact, in an interview, he had said: "I want the audience to feel good after watching my films. I want them to leave the theatres with a renewed spirit for life."

Not popular among the critics, the 92-year-old Padma Shri awardee could narrate a simple tale simply and relied heavily on Bengali literature and Rabindra Sangeet. The director used to choreograph scenes just to add songs. In fact, he believed in curtailing dialogues to use a song. "If you want to make films, you need to observe life and people. One person cannot do it all in a lifetime. So, I depend on literature, which is a treasure trove of experiences. And Rabindra Sangeet has all the emotions," he had said.

A spotter for talents, Majumdar can be credited for the introduction of actors like Mahua Roychowdhury, Tapas Paul, Ayan Banerjee and Moushumi Chatterjee. Of course, only Majumdar could vouch for Anup Kumar to play Basanta Chatujje in 1963's Palatak.

Even Uttam Kumar expressed the desire to act in Palatak. But Majumdar knew he had found his lead in Anup Kumar, who's tagged as a comedian. Palatak was later remade by Majumdar as Rahgir in 1969 with Biswajeet as the lead.

Majumdar also spotted his wife-actress Sandhya Roy with whom he has worked in more than 20 films, including Thagini, Fuleswari, Nimantran, Khelar Putul and Agaman.

An inconsolable Roy said: "He was my husband. The pain is unbearable. In his entire life, I have always seen him busy with his work. He could groom young actors with a lot of care."

Majumdar was among the last of the great filmmakers from Bengal, who created his own universe outside the holy trinity of Ray, Ghatak and Mrinal. Yet, he was not celebrated as he should have been, but his audiences did celebrate his films at the theatres. As Srijit Mukherji puts it: "Farewell to the ever-underrated Tarun Majumdar – travel well, Legend."