Veteran Bengali actor Mithu Mukherjee has died at the age of 71. She died at a private hospital in Mumbai on Sunday night after battling cancer for nearly a year.
Background
Mukherjee, who had been living in Mumbai for several years, was a prominent name in Bengali cinema during the 1970s and 1980s.
She worked with several leading actors of her time, including Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chattopadhyay and Ranjit Mullick.
Born in Kolkata in 1955, Mukherjee entered films at the age of 17. She made her debut with Chitta Bose's Shesh Parba in 1972, where she was paired opposite Shamit Bhanja.
Her breakthrough came with Dinen Gupta's Marjina Abdulla, in which she played the titular role opposite Debraj Roy.
The actor subsequently appeared in several Bengali films, including Nishikanya, Mouchak, Kabi, Hotel Snow Fox, Pratima, Bandhan, Prarthana and Swayamsiddha. Her performances and screen presence made her one of the recognisable faces of Bengali cinema during the period.
Mukherjee also explored Hindi cinema. She made her Hindi film debut with Dulal Guha's Khaan Dost in 1976. She later featured in films such as Safed Jhoot, directed by Basu Chatterjee, as well as Dillagi and Do Ladke Dono Kadke.
After appearing in Dujane in the 1980s, Mukherjee took a break from acting. She returned to the screen with Chandra Barot's Ashrita in 1990, which eventually became her final film.
Following Ashrita, Mukherjee chose to step away from the film industry and maintained a low-profile life. She largely stayed away from the public eye in the years that followed.
