Cancer claims the life of Bengali actor Uma Dasgupta, who played Durga in Pather Panchali, directed by Satyajit Ray.

The scene in Pather Panchali where Apu and Durga race across a field to witness the train for the first time is one of the pictures that will always be etched in the annals of Indian cinema. The Bengali actor who played Durga in Pather Panchali, directed by Satyajit Ray, Uma Dasgupta, has away. She spent many years fighting cancer. Through Anandabazar Patrika, her relative, actor and politician Chiranjeet Chakraborty, verified the death report.

In the early hours of Monday, November 18, Uma Dasgupta passed away. She reportedly passed away at around eight in the morning. Chiranjeet told Anandabazar Patrika that he had met Uma’s daughter in the morning and learned that her mother had passed away. “Uma di’s daughter told me that she is no longer with us,” he said. A few years ago, she received a cancer diagnosis.

Following the diagnosis, Uma was receiving medical care. Even the medical treatment was working nicely for her. However, the cancer came back. She was also admitted to a nearby hospital in Kolkata for additional care. That’s where she breathed her last.

From an early age, Uma Dasgupta was connected to the theater. Director Satyajit Ray was friends with her school’s headmaster. The director cast Durga in Pather Panchali thanks to him. The rest is history. Despite this, Uma’s father had not wanted her daughter to pursue a profession in acting. Later, however, he consented. Uma only appeared in a few more movies after Pather Panchali.

After enjoying the raindrops during the first shower of the year, Uma’s character Durga in Pather Panchali passes away from a high fever. Ray’s first feature film as a director was an adaptation of the same-titled 1929 Bengali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. It was widely praised when it was released and is often regarded as one of the best movies ever made.