COVID-19: Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee shifted to intensive care
Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, 85, best known for immortalizing the fictional character of private investigator Feluda in Satyajit Ray's works, had tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, October 6. He has since been shifted to the intensive care facility of Belle Vue Clinic in Kolkata, after his health condition deteriorated on late Friday night. Here are more details on this.
He had been unwell for a few days before testing
Chatterjee's family has confirmed that the actor had been unwell for a few days before a doctor recommended the COVID-19 test for him. He was hospitalized on Tuesday after testing positive for the fatal virus. The actor has now been put on oxygen support, and a team of doctors is closely monitoring his health condition round the clock, per reports.
Chatterjee shifted to intensive care for close monitoring: Doctor
Chatterjee has been experiencing restlessness and reached an "acute confusional stage," his doctor told PTI. "We have shifted him to the ITU for close monitoring. He is having several co-morbidities, that's why we need to be more careful," the doctor added. Chatterjee reportedly suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Last year, he had suffered a bout of pneumonia and was hospitalized.
He had recently resumed working on 'Abhijaan'
Chatterjee had been working on a documentary film titled Abhijaan. It has reportedly been directed by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and also stars Jisshu Sengupta. The actor had made his acting debut with Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar (1959), the third part of The Apu Trilogy. He is arguably one of the most prominent faces of Ray's films, having worked with the legendary filmmaker in 14 films.
His other notable works include 'Charulata' and 'Ghare Baire'
Chatterjee also popularly starred in the 1964 drama Charulata, Parineeta (1969), Sonar Kella (1974), Devdas (1979), Ghare Baire (1984). Some of his other notable works include Ashani Sanket, Aranyer Din Ratri, Shakha Proshakha, Jhinder Bandi, and Saat Pake Bandha. Interestingly, Chatterjee also featured in Sujoy Ghosh's 2015 short film Ahalya, also starring Radhika Apte. He was last seen in Sanjhbati in 2019.
Many film and television personalities contracted COVID-19
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, many film and television personalities have contracted the disease. They include megastar Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan, actor Kiran Kumar, and singer Kanika Kapoor, among others.