MUMBAI : Veteran Bengali actor Pradip Mukherjee, who became legendary after his iconic role of Somnath in Satyajit Ray's 'Jana Aranya', died in a hospital in Kolkata on Monday. He was 76. Mukherjee was hospitalised on August 22 following a lung infection. His condition started deteriorating from Sunday and he had to be given ventilator support.

He tested positive for Covid-19 twice in the last two years.

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He also received critics' accolades for his role of Dr Maiti in the Vidya Balan and Arjun Rampal starrer, 'Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh'. Besides acting, Mukherjee was also a practicing tax consultant. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. He had been attracted to acting since his college days.

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Mukherjee was born on August 11, 1946 and after graduating from City College in Kolkata, he also received a degree in law.

Besides taking drama lessons, he was actively associated with a number of theatre academies. He started his acting career on stage, where he was noticed by Satyajit Ray, who featured him as Somnath in his iconic movie 'Jana Aranya'.

Credit: The Free Press Journal