KOLKATA: Iconic actor and Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner Soumitra Chatterjee, who strode the path of Bengali film industry like a colossus, passed at a city hospital on Sunday. He was 85.

He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

He was admitted to hospital on October 6 just a day after he tested COVID-19 positive. The actor tested negative a little after a week on October 14, but remained hospitalised because of health complications, especially COVID-19 induced encephalopathy.

"We declare with heavy heart that Shri Soumitra Chattopadhyay breathed his last at 12.15 pm at Belle Vue Clinic today (15 November 2020). We pay our homage to his soul," the bulletin from Kolkata's Belle Vue Hospital said.

Chatterjee's health condition was "extremely critical" and he was "not responding at all" to treatment, critical care expert and head of the medical board Arindam Kar had said just minutes back.

The octogenarian actor's health condition "extremely" deteriorated since Friday.

"The team of doctors including neurologist, nephrologist, cardiologist, those from critical care medicine, infection disease specialist, both from public and private sectors, everyone has put their effort to get the legend back from the critical stage, but it is not working," Kar said.

He said that the doctors have tried really hard to "revive" Soumitra. "We are very sorry to say that he is not responding at all."

The Dadasaheb Phalke awardee was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kolkata's Belle Vue Hospital for almost 40 days and his consciousness level went down significantly since Friday. The condition of the veteran actor had remained a matter of concern owing to co-morbidities and advanced age. His key problem was Covid-19 encephalopathy, doctors said.

He was shooting for a documentary titled "Abhijan" directed by actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay. Last time he attended the shooting floor at Bharatlaxmi Studio was on October 1. The next shooting schedule was fixed on October 7.