Apu's Durga no more; Pather Panchali actress Uma Dasgupta dies of cancer

KOLKATA: Bengali actress Uma Dasgupta, best known for portraying the girl named Durga in the all-time classic Pather Panchali, has passed away. She was 83 years old and was suffering from cancer. Uma Dasgupta breathed her last at a private hospital in Kolkata at 8.15 am yesterday.

Actor Chiranjeet Chakraborty announced the news of her death to the media. The cremation took place in the evening at the Keoratala crematorium in Kolkata.

Born and brought up in Kolkata, Uma became active in theatre at a very young age. The headmaster of the school where Uma was studying was a friend of Satyajit Rai. That's how Uma got an opportunity in 'Pather Panjali'. She was 14 years old at the time.

Directed by Rai, the film is based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's novel Pather Panchali and was released in 1955. Uma has acted in very few films after Pather Panchali. She was serving as a teacher. After retirement, she appeared in Kaushik Ganguly's Apur Panchali and Lokkhi Chele (2022). She has a daughter.