Mamata Banerjee pays homage to 'Mahanayak' Uttam Kumar

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today remembered veteran actor Uttam Kumar, lovingly called Mahanayak here, on his 36th death anniversary.

Banerjee said it still pains her that the body of the "Nayak" actor was not kept for his fans to pay their last tribute.

"I am still pained that Uttam Kumar's body was not allowed to be kept at Rabindra Sadan to allow the people to pay their respects," she said at a programme here by the state government to mark Kumar's 36th death anniversary.

The then Left Front government did not allow his body to be kept at its cultural centre in the city.

"We remember his death anniversary more than his birth anniversary and the day makes our heart feel heavy," Banerjee said.

Yesteryear actors Madhavi Mukherjee and Supriya Devi, who were also Kumar's co-stars, were among those who spoke at the programme, which also featured evergreen melodies from his films.

Music director Bappi Lahiri was conferred the Mahanayak award for the year. Actors like Rituparna Sengupta, Jisshu Sengupta, Paran Bandhopadhay and Sohini Sarkar were awarded for their performances in 2015.

Director Gautam Ghosh was awarded as best director for his film "Sankha Cheel".