RIP Soumitra Chatterjee: 7 Heroines Whom We Loved Alongside Apu

Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee passed away on Sunday and the medical board at the Kolkata hospital where he was for over a month announced the news. He was 85. Soumitra was the alt superstar of Bangla cinema in its glory years, the affable Bhadralok icon who crafted a towering stature ironically banking on down-to-earth, believable characters that represented middle-class Bengal. The brand of stardom was in stark contrast to the other shining luminary of contemporary cinema in the state -- Uttam Kumar -- whose position as Mahanayak in the Bengali psyche was primarily cemented in idol worship and mass hysteria.  Here we take a look at Soumitra's leading ladies who were the perfect foil to this hero of the 'thinking-man'. (Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)

(Image: Network18 Creative)