Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s health deteriorates further

Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s health deteriorated further on Monday night. Doctors said his kidneys started malfunctioning.

The octogenarian actor, who had tested positive for Covid-19 on October 6 and has been hospitalised at a Kolkata hospital since then, had to be put on the ventilator on Monday afternoon.

“His health has deteriorated. We have given him ventilation support. The gastrointestinal bleeding, though we managed to stop it, has had some repercussions on the rest of the body. His platelet count was pretty low. The bleeding, the medication and dehydration have taken a toll on his kidney functions, as a result of which his urea creatinine levels have gone up while his urine output is not satisfactory,” Dr Arindam Kar, who is leading a team of doctors treating the thespian, told mediapersons late Monday night.

One of Bengal’s most celebrated actors, Chatterjee has received many awards and honours, including the Padma Bhushan, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, national awards and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna. He is best known for his collaboration with Oscar-winner Satyajit Ray and the Feluda series.

“We are trying to get him better than what he is now. But the challenges are very steep. Time and again new issues are cropping up because of his age, comorbidities and repercussions of so much medication,” stated the last medical bulletin issued late Monday night.