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| Image Courtesy: Google |
The life of luxury and decadence is characteristic of film stars. But when their existence gets adorned with utmost respect from their fans, their acting gets real and they become immortal and sublime.
Such is the case with the legend of Indian Cinema: Uttam Kumar. (I don’t want to categorize the Indian cinema with the tinge of regionalism such as Kollywood, Tollywood or Bollywood for that matter, India is one and for that very reason its cinematic endevours should be recognized as only Indian not Bengali, Tamil, Kannanda, Telugu or Hindi.)
In Kolkata, a metro station has been named after him. The portraits and photographs of his, deck up the walls of the station. Every time, I see those pictures a sense of awe wraps me up. Mind you, I have hardly seen more than a film of his (and that is ‘Amanush’ in Hindi) and despite that his aura leaps out of the walls and catches me with utter charisma of its. His panache seems divine, his effect magical.
Every expression of his face emanates serenity and sincerity of his existence. His eyes, his lips, his cheeks, his forehead work in a synchronization to create a bewitching appeal.
The debonair, suave and uber-simple Uttam weaves a halo that seems enigmatically enchanting. You are certain to get the influence of a hangover after visiting the station.
No wonder he has been given the appellation of Mahanayak (The Great Hero). If he can cast a spell from his inanimate pictures, what used to happen when he used to come across his fans in blood and flesh! Indeed he is the great hero, because he speaks with his fans even with mute photographs of his.
