There was a time when actor Ambarish Bhattacharya would eagerly wait for
Bhai Phonta. His uncle’s daughter would invite him over for lunch and give him gifts. But the ritual gradually discontinued due to a number of reasons and Ambarish misses celebrating Bhai Phonta. On Monday, when we contacted the actor, he was reading one of his favourite books to spend the sombre morning following the demise of legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee.
“Since Soumitra kaku was my father’s friend, I have been visiting his residences at Lake Temple Road and Golf Green from my childhood days. Along with my father, I had seen a number of his plays, including Ghotok Biday and Chandanpurer Chor. This was one of the reasons why we shared a bond from early on,” said Ambarish.
Remembering the shooting days, Ambarish said that even during the filming of Monojder Odbhut Bari, Soumitra Chatterjee looked very tired. "But as soon as he started giving a shot, he would be a different person. He anyway would not work for more than four hours a day. He used to tell me that all his tiredness disappeared when he started acting on stage. During our conversations, I often felt that he loved theatre much more than films,” Ambarish added.