New Delhi: Uttam Kumar was born on September 3, 1926 as Arun Kumar Chatterjee but was probably destined to be the Mahanayak. The kind of following he enjoyed in Bengal and Bangladesh till his last day (July 24, 1980), was unthinkable for many of his contemporaries in Bengali cinema. In fact, rarely do we see stars of his calibre in regional cinema. However, there are enough reasons to believe that Uttam Kumar deserved much more than what he received.
Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand were Uttam's contemporaries. All three of them started to come up with films during 1950s and 60s that were to change the course of Indian cinema forever. Surprisingly, each one of them played the romantic hero in their own distinct style. While Dilip believed in sacrifice, Dev Anand used his boy-ish charm but Uttam chose a mixture of both of the former stalwarts, and probably this amalgamation gave him an edge over others. Suchitra Sen was always there to complement his matured-yet-naive lover image.
Unlike many of the Bengali superstars, Uttam Kumar had a different life story. He had a refined taste but this was not the result of his background. His taste was acquired but Uttam had worked so hard on understanding the values behind the trends that ultimately he became the man that he portrayed in many of his films. It was his belief in himself that made him a superstar from an ordinary Calcutta port clerk.
If you scan the newspapers of 1960s then you'll realise what Uttam meant to producers in Bengal. If reports are to be believed then there were at least two big Bengali producers who used to send blank cheques to Uttam. Big heroines used to be lured by his name into signing a film, and houseful boards were ordered to be made in advance.
However, Uttam was never admired by the 'cultured' Bengali society in the same way as it appreciated other actors. They had a different view on his stardom as they probably thought that popular things can't be good. Remember this was the time when even those Satyajit Ray films were not working well which later became 'cult' films for the same reason. The art world was a bit sceptical towards accepting people like Uttam Kumar because they had already lapped Soumitra or someone else.
Satyajit Ray's 'Nayak' was written with Uttam Kumar in mind, and it was said to be based on Uttam's own life. This film gives a lot of insight into his world and thought process. In one of the excellent scenes ever created in Bengali cinema, Uttam seems to be looking into his inner self and the expression on his face is so profound that the audience are forced to remember their own childhood. This scene in itself is a proof of the great talent Uttam possessed.
He once said, "I prefer following my own ways of acting, like the ways we talk, get angry, that kind of natural spontaneous acting. More of portraying a character." Isn't this the reflection of the persona he had?
Be it Suchitra, Supriya or Sabitri, he always changed his methods to suit the co-actor. a master of box-office, he was a fantastic actor, probably the best romantic actor Bengali cinema ever saw.
Today is the actor's 87th birth anniversary and despite his absence since 33 years, he is alive in the hearts of millions of his fans via countless romantic scenes.
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