Kolkata, Nov 12: Famous Bengali theatre personality Manoj Mitra, known for writing and directing farces and fantasies to highlight social and political issues, died at a hospital here on Tuesday due to old-age related ailments, family sources said.
Mitra was 86. According to a doctor, Mitra breathed his last at around 8.50 am on Tuesday.
“He was admitted to the hospital on November 3 with several illnesses. His condition kept on deteriorating and today at around 8.50 am he left us,” the doctor told PTI.
The octogenarian was earlier admitted to hospital on September 20 with breathing issues, imbalance of sodium and potassium among other health-related issues, doctors said. He was discharged from the hospital on September end. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her grief over the passing away of Mitra and described it as an irreplaceable loss to Bengali cinema and theatre.
“Saddened by the demise of the famous actor, director and playwright, ‘Banga Bibhushan’ Manoj Mitra today morning,” she posted on X.
“He had been a leading personality in our theatre and film worlds and his contributions have been immense. I convey my condolences to his family, friends and admirers,” she added.
West Bengal Education Minister and actor-theatre personality Bratya Basu in a social media post traced the illustrious career of Manoj Mitra and offered his deep condolences to the bereaved family and his countless followers.
Veteran playwright and actor Arun Mukhopadhyay described his contemporary Manoj Mitra as a leading light in a unique genre of Bengali theatre which was populist entertaining and yet had social message. He was also equally versatile in group theatre which is also called ‘anyo dharar natok’, Mukhopadhyay said. (PTI)
