Book set to reveal details of Mahanayak's little-known USA trip

Kolkata: A book on Uttam Kumar's USA trip, about which very little is known so far, will be released on September 3 which is the 90th birth anniversary of the matinee idol. The book will be published by the Tagore Society of New York at Swapno Bhor, the senior citizen's park at New Town.

Not much is known about Uttam Kumar's trip to USA in 1979, just one year before his premature death. He was accompanied by Supriya Chowdhury and they stayed there for 45 days. This was the star's maiden trip to America. Earlier, he had visited some countries of Europe with Satyajit Ray.

The book, titled Uttam Kumar Er Hariye Jaoa Dinguli, will be appreciated by thousands of his fans throughout the globe. In Supriya Devi's Amar Jibon Amar Uttam, details of the trip have not been mentioned.

It may be mentioned that when some circumstances forced Uttam Kumar to leave Bengal in the mid 60s, he went first to Mumbai and then to Allahabad. We get an account of his days in Allahabad in film director Jayanta Bhattacharya of Agragami group's book Samay Uttam O Ami.

The lovers of Uttam want to know how their favourite actor, who they referred to as "guru" in common parlance, spent his days in the United States.

Uttam had visited New York, Washington DC, New Jersey, California, Baltimore and Buffalo. He had also visited Toronto in Canada. Those who had seen Uttam in USA were charmed by his simplicity and personality.

His humility had also attracted those who came in his contact. When his fans decided to celebrate his birthday at a big hotel in Canada, he refused and insisted that it should be celebrated at his host's house which was a small three-room flat.

Uttam was a good singer as well and an avid lover of Rabindra sangeet. Often on weekends he used to entertain the audience by singing Rabindra sangeet.

The people who live in USA felt that those 42 days will remain forever in their memory. They regret that Uttam died from a massive heart attack in 1980. He felt uneasy during the shooting of Ogo Bodhu Sundari and was taken to a nursing home, where he breathed his last shortly after admission. He was only 54-years-old when he died, ending an era in Bengali cinema.

Many feel that he was not only a star but was the man who stood by the Bengali film industry at a time when Tollywood was reeling under economic crisis.