I will always regret on missing out playing Goopy in ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’: Soumitra Chatterjee

Age is just a number for Soumitra Chatterjee. Even at 85, he is quite active on stage and screen for the last six decades. The veteran actor, who can still put his juniors to shame given his zest for life and talent and has been awarded almost every honour in India, still regrets missing out on playing a few roles. “There are few. Sometime I regret missing out on a few interesting roles. I am still eager to portray characters from Shakespeare’s stories, particularly Hamlet. But frankly speaking I have now passed my prime. So, I have played King Lear. Also, I will always regret on missing out the chance to essay Goopy in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ (1969). But then I think Tapen Chatterjee was born to portray Goopy. Plus, I am yet to work with Kaushik Ganguly, perhaps he hasn’t yet created something where I can be fitted as an actor,” said the legendary actor who will next be seen in director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s ‘Bela Shuru and a biopic on him directed by Parambrata Chattopadhyay. ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ released in 1969 is touted to be one of the most interesting decisions Ray took, considering his filmography dealing with serious humanistic movies with social message. It’s a fantasy adventure involving the titular characters and inspired by a story written by Satyajit Ray’s grandfather Upendra Kishor Roychoudhary. With ‘Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne’ Ray, for the first time after ‘Parash Pathar’, worked with the comedy genre. Interestingly, he made this film following a request from young Sandip Ray, who went on to become a national award winning director himself.