Veteran dramatist Manoj Mitra passes away at 86

Manoj Mitra, the famous Bengali playwright and actor, passed away at the age of 86 in a Kolkata hospital on November 12, 2024. He had been dealing with health issues related to aging for several years. His brother, writer Amar Mitra, announced his death at around 8:50 AM.

The hospital authorities had previously reported that veteran actor Manoj Mitra's heart was not functioning properly, and his blood pressure was unstable. He also suffered from a sodium-potassium imbalance. A medical board was formed to address his health issues, but despite the doctors' efforts, Manoj passed away.

Manoj Mitra was born on December 22, 1938, in Dhulihar village, Satkhira district, in undivided Bengal. He graduated with a degree in Philosophy from Scottish Church College in 1958, where he got involved in drama and made friends with Badal Sarkar and Rudraprasad Sengupta. Later, he earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Calcutta University and started doing research.

Mitra started acting in dramas in 1957 and made his film debut in 1979. He taught Philosophy at various colleges before becoming the Head of the Drama Department at Rabindra Bharati University. His first play, Mrityur Kem Jal, was written in 1959, but he gained fame with the 1972 drama Chak Bangga Madhu, directed by Bivas Chakraborty. He founded a theater group called Sundaram, later left to create another group named Ritayan, but returned to Sundaram soon after. Manoj is known for several popular plays, including Absanna Prajapati, Neela, Mrityur Kahe Jal, Singhdwar, and Fera.

Manoj was admitted to the hospital last September due to illness, and during that time, false news about his death spread on social media. He recovered and went home, giving fans hope that he would get better again. Sadly, this time he could not recover, and he passed away.