Veteran Bengali actor and former Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul dies at 61

KOLKATA: Veteran Bengali actor and former Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul died of cardiac arrest early on Tuesday (February 18, 2020). He was 61 years old. According to reports, Paul had gone to Mumbai to visit his daughter where he complained of chest pain at the Mumbai airport while returning Kolkata. He was rushed to a hospital in Juhu where he died around 4 am.

The veteran actor was suffering from heart ailments and had been admitted to hospitals several times for treatment during the past two years. Paul, a two-term MP from Krishnanagar and MLA from Alipore, is survived by his daughter and wife.

He was arrested by the CBI in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam in December 2016 and was given bail after 13 months. Since then, he was not very active in films.

As a romantic hero, he endeared himself to the Bengali audience since his debut film Dadar Kirti in 1980, Paul became a known household name because of his lead roles in Saheb (1981), Parabat Priya (1984), Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985), Anurager Choyan (1986) and Amar Bandhan (1986).

He was awarded the Filmfare Award for Saheb (1981). Several noted personalities from Bengali cinema, including actor Ranjit Mallick, described Paul's death as "untimely".