Ray and more: Ten roles that proved Soumitra Chatterjee's versatility

The screen guises he donned, be it for Ray or other directors, projected a modern man vacillating between personal urges and social constraints

Screen actor. Theatre doyen. Dramatist. Poet. Literary editor. Soumitra Chatterjee, best known the world over as Satyajit Ray’s alter ego, was all that and more. His international fame – in India, unfortunately, he wasn’t a household name outside Bengal – rests on the films he did with Ray. Hence the misconception that he did little else. 

Chatterjee, who died in a Kolkata hospital on Sunday at 85, was a cultural icon who left an imprint across multiple domains. The screen guises he donned, be it for Ray or other directors, projected a modern man vacillating between personal urges