Bharat SainiLast Updated on April 21, 2018 by Bharat Saini
Legion of Honour or Legion d’Honneur, the highest civilian award in France, was received by the Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, arguably, the most prominent face of Ray’s films, at the Investiture Ceremony in Kolkatta on Tuesday 30 January, 2018 from the French Ambassador in India Alexandre Ziegler. The Order of the Legion of Honour had been conferred on legendary Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray on the 2nd of February, 1989 by the President of the French Republic François Mitterrand during his visit to Calcutta now Kolkata. Sandip Ray, a film-maker and son of Satyajit Ray was in the audience when his father received the award 29 years ago, and was also present on this very day.
Legion of Honour, officially National Order of the Legion of Honour, French Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur, premier order of the French republic, was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul, on May 19, 1802, as a general military and civil order of merit conferred without regard to birth or religion provided that anyone admitted swears to uphold liberty and equality.
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is a famous Bengali Actor who was born on 19 January 1935 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is also a Theatre Actor, Poet & Painter. He is well known for his association with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, doing fourteen successful films with him. He was a leading actor of 1960s and 1970s of Bengali Cinema. His debut film was Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) in 1959. His notable roles include roles in Abhijan (The Expedition, 1962), Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Sonar Kella (The Fortress, 1974) as Feluda and Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God, 1978).
Soumitra Chatterjee was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award by the Indian Government in 2004. He received in 2012 Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement, two National Film Awards as the best actor, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998 as a Bengali film actor. In 2013 IBN LIVE named him as one of “The men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema”. In 2014 he received the introductory Filmfare Awards East for Best Male Actor (Critics) for his role in Rupkatha Noy. He won 6 Filmfare Awards.
