বাংলায় পড়ুন
It was believed that Mahanayak Uttam Kumar knew everything about his death in advance. He told his close friends before his death that he would not live much longer, giving many hints during conversations.
It was around 1975. An incident occurred. Satyajit Roy, Soumitra Chatterjee, and Uttam Kumar were on their way to meet the then Chief Minister of Bengal, Jyoti Basu, at Mahakaran due to problems in shooting due to continuous load shedding in the studio quarters. While going with them, Uttam Kumar said to Satyajit Ray, "Manikda, you are not taking me anymore for any part." In response to that question, Satyajit Ray said, Look, Uttam, your age is such that you are neither old nor young. I'll take you when you are a little older from now on." After that, Uttam Kumar said, "I cannot do the old man's part anymore; Pulu will do it."
Pulu is the nickname of Soumitra Chatterjee. Soumitra Chatterjee mentioned this incident during an interview and said, "What Uttamada said, all came true. It was so surprising! Uttamada could hear the footsteps of death. He often used to say, 'Ar bhalo lagche na'."
There was another incident. The Kolkata Metro started running in the mid-eighties. By 1978–79, due to Metro's work, the traffic was in dire condition. One such day, Uttam Kumar was stuck in traffic with a fellow artist in the car. He said, "Dada, when the Metro starts, Kolkata's looks will change." At that question, Uttam Kumar gave a strange answer. "All these things I cannot see, you all will be experiencing."
Mahanayak Uttam Kumar always used to say to his close ones, "I will become alone now. Something is not right!"
Once actor Rabi Ghosh wrote about Uttam Kumar, "Uttam Kumar is such a great hero. He has thousands of adoring fans; everyone loves him and wants to touch him. I was surprised to see that when Uttam got sick and was admitted to the hospital, he used to sit like a 'chatak' bird all day, waiting for his mother to come to see him. Seeing that eagerness, the man seemed very helpless. There is no one in the world who can be trusted."
On the day Uttam Kumar died, there was a huge crowd of cinemagoers and many talented people! There, in the crowd of people, Actor Soumitra Chatterjee started crying and said, "Buro Da, how can I see that face? This is somewhat calculative suicide! He knew his heart condition was not good; he knew he needed rest; yet he drank alcohol until two in the morning, knowingly at the party. Why did you do it, Uttamada?"
On July 23, after returning from shooting, Uttam Kumar went to a house party at producer Debal Ghosh's new flat. He drank there until late at night and returned home in the early morning. On July 24, Uttam went for a morning walk with actress Supriya's daughter, Soma, around 5:30–6 a.m. He was sweating more than the other day.
Seeing him, Soma said, "Babi, you are sweating a lot!" On that question, Uttam Kumar answered, "Hmm. My chest is also aching. I'd rather take a little detour from Bellevue." After that, he reached Bellevue by walking.
Mahanayak Uttam Kumar passed away at 9:32 p.m. on that day. His cherished ambassador carried his dead body to his residence in Bhawanipur. In the pages of his last diary, he wrote in green ink on the pages of July 23, 24, and 25, 1980, 'Dubbing Ogo Badhu'. The 'Bancharamer Bagan' movie's names were cut out. On some pages of July 26, he wrote, 'Rest'! Eternal rest!
No one understood anything about this until now. Who knows? Maybe he himself wanted it to happen!
