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By:

Shoma A. Chatterji

21 August 2024 at 4:19:40 pm

Uttam Kumar: The Legend Lives On

Four decades after his death, Bengal’s greatest star still commands a devotion that borders on the religious. Uttam Kumar was revelatory in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (1966), one of his most iconic performances. Every year, in the month of September, when Uttam Kumar was born in Ahiritola in the northern parts of Kolkata, and also in July, when he passed away, people across West Bengal go wild with celebrations in tribute to Uttam Kumar though he passed away in 1980, more than five decades ago. One...

Uttam Kumar: The Legend Lives On

Four decades after his death, Bengal’s greatest star still commands a devotion that borders on the religious. Uttam Kumar was revelatory in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (1966), one of his most iconic performances. Every year, in the month of September, when Uttam Kumar was born in Ahiritola in the northern parts of Kolkata, and also in July, when he passed away, people across West Bengal go wild with celebrations in tribute to Uttam Kumar though he passed away in 1980, more than five decades ago. One can therefore imagine what must have happened while celebrating his centenary this year. The shimmering ‘light’ umbrellas, the giant-sized posters of the unforgettable star Uttam Kumar not only decorated Nandan, the cultural centre of the State Government, but also every corner of the city filled with posters from films of the great star, songs from his films playing across the city, almost reminding the lay Kolkata man of the Durga Pooja. But Durga Pooja is more than a month away and here we were witness to the most memorable centenary tribute being paid to just the only actor in India, rare because no other Indian actor’s centenary has been celebrated for almost a week right across the state of West Bengal. Unpromising Beginnings Few today know that his name was Arun Kumar Chatterjee but was changed to ‘Uttam’, meaning ‘the best’ when he stepped into films. His first film Dhristidaan was released in 1948. Some say he made his debut as an ‘extra’ in Mayadore in 1947. Initially, people labelled him ‘Flop Master General’. Every single film he played hero in flopped. It took a long, hard struggle, shedding of silent tears, rising above deep frustration and a determination to succeed that took him to the peak. Many had given him up as a ‘lost case.’ Uttam Kumar had his share of sharp, acidic criticism. When he was riding the crest of success with films opposite Suchitra Sen, setting the screen on fire with their electric chemistry, many intellectuals attacked this good-looking actor with the label of ‘theatrical actor full of mannerisms.’ “He does not know the ABC of acting,” said some. But he silenced them with his sterling performance in Bosu Paribar (1952) directed by Nirmal De. This was his first hit. He became a star with Agni Pareeksha directed by Agradoot. With Suchitra Sen in Harano Sur (1957), one of the films that cemented the unforgettable ‘Uttam-Suchitra’ screen chemistry. His last film, Ogo Bodhu Sundari hit the screens in 1980. He suffered a massive stroke on the studio floors and passed away on July 24. Over three decades, he acted in around 159 Bengali films, investing his characters with a unique charm, whether he played an old faithful servant in Khokababur Pratyabartan based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore, or whether it was the role of an amnesiac industrialist opposite Suchitra Sen in Harano Sur. As he mellowed into character roles, his performance matured and his screen persona took on a new look. He continued to dominate the screen in mature roles such as the committed doctor in Agnisnaan or the strange villain in Aparichito or Chunilal in Dilip Roy’s Devdas. Total Commitment He would arrive on the sets much before time, repair to his make-up room, put on his make-up and costume and would sit in absolute silence, dwelling on the scenes to be shot that day. The director would summon him when the shot was ready and he would face the camera, living his screen character. “His commitment to acting– the sequence, the chronology of shots, the light arrangements, the make-up and costume, the character he was portraying – was total”, says Tapan Sinha who directed Uttam Kumar in Upahaar, Bicharak, Hansuli Baanker Upakatha, Jhinder Bondi and Jotugriha. This director-actor bonding cracked completely when Sinha dropped Uttam Kumar to pick theatre personality Manoj Mitra for Banchharaamer Bagan. Supriya Devi insisted that it was this shock that brought about the heart attack that finally ended his life. “He heard it from others, not from Tapan-da. He was so totally involved in the role after long discussions with Tapan-da that all he could talk about at home was this film. So, when he heard he was dropped, he could not cope,” she reminisced sadly. In Jhinder Bondi (1961), a striking reminder of the superstar’s versatility. “He would recite the Chandipaath loudly everyday during his morning Pooja. He would read the newspaper loudly to gain command over his diction. He did not have a morsel of food the day he was to shoot the nightmare scene in Nayak where he is shown slowly sucked into a quicksand-like hillock of currency notes. He later said how he really lost his balance and felt smothered under those notes,”said the late Supriya Devi, his leading lady in 33 films and his live-in partner for 20 years till his death. In his authorized autobiography Amaar Ami (1980) written by Gouranga Prasad Ghosh, the reader gets a glimpse of the image of a middle-class urban Bengali who invested tremendously in hard work, perseverance, diligence and grit. It speaks lucidly about a man’s single-minded determination to work his way up the ladder to reach the top, who never takes his success for granted, who is ever ready to learn everything his roles demand him to. Apart from dancing, horse-riding and tennis, he also learnt wrestling at an akhara near Indira cinema, unknown to many. He was a very good singer and tabla player but refused to playback for himself. Before testing the waters of Hindi films, he tried to master Hindi and Urdu too. The book also refers to his commitment to better the working conditions of junior artistes and to improve the status of the film industry in his home state. Remarkable Legacy What makes Uttam Kumar’s legacy remarkable is that it has never depended solely on nostalgia. Each generation seems to discover something different in him — the romantic hero, the sensitive middle-class Bengali, the mature character actor, the singer, the performer who understood the value of preparation and discipline. His appeal crossed the boundaries of class, age and even time. He also represented a particular moment in Bengali cinema when the star system, music, literature and theatre came together to create a distinctive popular culture. Uttam Kumar was at the centre of that world, but he was never merely its glamorous face. Behind the immaculate screen image was a deeply hardworking actor who constantly pushed himself to learn, experiment and improve. That heart-wrenching smile, those mesmerizing eyes still make hearts of women in their 50s and 60s miss a beat. “He is the universal romantic hero of all time, the best Indian cinema has produced since no other star anywhere else in the country has been able to keep his memory alive in the minds of the masses like Uttam Kumar has,” said the late Rabi Basu, a renowned film critic. Up there, Uttam Kumar, looking at that square, corrugated picture of himself archived in a postage stamp, is probably having the last laugh at critics who dubbed him ‘a theatrical actor full of mannerisms,’ or, ‘a chocolate-boy hero who does not know the ABC of acting.’ (The writer is a noted film scholar and a double-winner for the National Award for Best Writing on Cinema who has authored books on the cinema of Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and Suchitra Sen among others. Views personal.)

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Writer: Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Nov 7, 2024
3 min read

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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