Indo-Bangla tribute to Soumitra Chattopadhyay through paintings and sculptures – Times of India

Kolkata for the first time saw a remarkable tribute to acting maestro Soumitra Chattopadhyay through 42 paintings and sculptures of 33 painters and 7 sculptors of India and Bangladesh at Academy of Fine Arts.
Organised by Parchi Protichi, the art exhibition is all set to travel to New Delhi and Dhaka, after its conclusion in Kolkata on December 31, to reach out to thousands of admirers of Soumitra, who was a thespian, poet, elocutionist, editor of a literary magazine and also a painter.
“We managed to hold the exhibition in the shortest possible time. I am overwhelmed by the generous response of the artists of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Particularly, the painters from Bangladesh, who promptly finished their art works and sent them for the exhibition. It is a tribute to the maestro, who had profoundly inspired the formation of Parchi Protchi apart from its two mentors, writer Sunil Gangopadhyay and painter Jamal Ahmed (Bangladesh),” said Tapos Mallick, curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition aimed at capturing the myriad dimensions of artistic persona that Soumitra Chattopadhyay represented. The exhibition titled ‘Aparajito Soumitra’ (Unvanquished Soumitra) included the paintings of Suvaprasanna, Hiran Mitra, Subrata Ganguly, Ashoke Mullick, Rupchand Kundu and many others from West Bengal and Jamal Ahmed, Sheikh Afzal, Ahmed Shamsuddoha, Shahjahan Ahmed Bikasj, Dulal Chandra Gain, Abbas Sattar Taufiq. Mohammed Kamaluddin, Ratnashwar Sutradhwar, Sumon Kumar Baidya from Bangladesh.
The sculptures were of Mrinal Kanti Gayen, Ram Kumar Manna, Kumkum Das, Krishnendu Tikadar, Pranabesh Mondal, Swaraj Pal, Tapas Ghosh. Despite the pandemic protocols, the footfall in the exhibition showed the instant popularity of it. “Many of the canvases have captured his most poignant moments of his landmark films with Satuajit Ray. Being Ray’s alter ego, Soumitra became a world famous actor. But some of the paintings have also brought to life his first love — acting in theatre,” Tapos added.
Parcho Protichi founded an art gallery, first of its kind in Shantiniketan, Tagore abode of peace. The organisation has already held over 100 exhibitions of paintings of artists of both Bengal.