Uttam Kumar

Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema.

Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay was born on 3 September 1926 at a maternal home in Ahiritola in northern Calcutta.

His father was Satkari Chattopadhyay from Hooghly district of West Bengal and his mother was Chapla Devi.

He was from a lower middle class family.

His father was a film projectionist in Metro Cinema.

He had two brothers, Barun and Tarun.

The latter was also an actor.

The nickname "Uttam" was given to him by his maternal grandmother.

Kumar was admitted to Chakraberia High School and later entered South Suburban School (Main) where he passed matriculation.

While in school, he found a theatre group called "Lunar Club".

Kumar's first role was in Rabindranath Tagore's Mukut at the age of five, for which he won a medal.

He again won a medal for Gayasur play.

He joined Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration for his higher studies, but was unable to complete this education because of the financial difficulties his family was facing.

He left college when he was in his last year and joined Kolkata Port Trust as a clerk, where he got paid 275 rupees per month.

He learned singing from Nidanbandhu Banerjee.

He learned Lathi Khela martial art training yoga and practised wrestling, football, volleyball and cricket He became a champion in swimming at Bhawanipur Swimming Association three years in a row.

His family owned an amateur theatre group called Suhrid Samaj.

His career spanned three decades, from the late 1940s until his death in 1980.

Kumar is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema and also the most popular and successful film star in Bengal.

He appeared in over 200 films, including Agni Pariksha, Harano Sur, Bicharak, Saptapadi, Jhinder Bandi, Sesh Anka, Deya Neya, Lal Pathor, Jatugriha, Thana Theke Aschi, Chowringhee, Nayak, Amanush, Bagh Bondi Khela, Ogo Badhu Sundori He produced seven films, and he directed the films Sudhu Ekti Bochor, Bon Palashir Padabali, and Kalankini Kankabati. He also composed music for several of his films.

Kumar was one of the most successful and influential actors in Bengali cinema history.

After few struggling years, Kumar entered the film industry in 1947, appearing as an extra in the Hindi film Mayadore, which was never released.

His first released film appearance was in Drishtidan (1948), directed by Nitin Bose and with Asit Baran playing the lead role; this film was under his birth name Arun Kumar Chattophadyay.

The next year in 1949, he appeared for the first time as the hero in the film Kamona, changing his name again to Uttam Chatterjee.

Later he changed his name again to Arup Kumar.

His first time lipsyncing a song was in the 1950 film Maryada.

The 1951 film Sahajatri was the first in which he used the name Uttam Kumar, at the advice of Pahari Sanyal.

In this film, he met singer-songwriter Hemanta Mukherjee, over whose voice he lip-synced.

Many of Kumar's early films (almost 7 films) were flops, and he was nicknamed "Flop Master General".

He was hugely disappointed and decided to leave the film industry.

During this time Kumar continued working at the Port Trust simultaneously

In 1952, Kumar was cast in one of the lead roles in M.P Production's banner Basu Poribar, directed by Nirmal Dey, which was his first film to get success and become superhit and receive praise.

With this success, he left the Port Trust and fully joined the film industry.

The following year, he worked with the same studio and director in the comedy film Sharey Chuattor, which was his first time paired with Suchitra Sen.

This film became blockbuster hit.

His first breakthrough role was in Agradoot's film Agnipariksha in 1954.

That film created a milestone in Bengali Cinema and was a trendsetter for the Bengal box office.

He was the first recipient of the National Film Award for Best Actor for his work in Antony Firingee (1967), and Chiriyakhana (1967).

His other awards include the BFJA Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

He is the namesake of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar metro station in Tollygunge and the Mahanayak Samman Award given by the Government of West Bengal.