Ritwik Ghatak's wife, Suroma, passes away

Kolkata: Iconic film maker Ritwik Ghatak's wife Suroma Ghatak died at a state-run hospital in the city following protracted illness, her family said.

She was 91 and was suffering from old age problems for the past few years.

She had been admitted to the state-run M R Bangur Hospital 10 days ago and had spent the past few days in its intensive care unit.

She breathed her last at around 12.30 am at the hospital, they said.

She is survived by her son Ritaban. Her two daughters had predeceased her.

Condoling the death West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a tweet: "Deeply saddened with the passing away of Surama Ghatak, wife of the legendary film maker Ritwik Ghatak. My condolences to the bereaved family and friends." Director Kamaleswar Mukhopadhyay, a close friend of the family and maker of a film loosely based on Ritwik Ghatak's life, said: "Suroma Ghatak's life was a life of battle. Her Bengali memoirs, which had been published earlier, will be of immense help to film students to know the period of the '60s and '70s (when Ghatak made his films)."

Suroma Ghatak had been a pillar of support to her mercurial film maker husband Ritwik Ghatak (1925-1976) who had made classics like Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha and Ajantrik to name a few.

Her family and friends including Kamaleswar Mukhopadhyay were present at the cremation. With agency inputs