West Bengal Government Forms 20-Member Advisory Committee to Mark Uttam Kumar’s Birth Centenary

The West Bengal government has announced a year-long programme to celebrate the birth centenary of legendary Bengali actor Uttam Kumar. As part of the initiative, the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs has constituted a 20-member Advisory Committee to plan, coordinate and oversee a series of cultural, cinematic and commemorative events across the state.

The Chief Minister, who also holds the Information and Cultural Affairs portfolio, will serve as the Chief Patron of the committee. Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and the Minister of State for the Information and Cultural Affairs Department have been appointed as Co-Patrons.

Filmmaker Sandeep Ray has been named the President of the committee, while actor Prosenjit Chatterjee will serve as the Working President. Dr Soumitra Mohan, Secretary of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department, has been appointed as the Member Secretary.

The committee also includes prominent personalities from the Bengali film industry and cultural sphere, including Jeet Madnani, Abir Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Deepak Adhikari (Dev), Shibashis Bandyopadhyay, Rituparna Sengupta, Rudranil Ghosh, Rupa Ganguly, Gaurav Chatterjee, Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly, Soumik Haldar, Jayanta Kundu and Premendu Bikash Chaki.

According to the government, the committee will prepare the overall roadmap for the birth centenary celebrations, focusing on Uttam Kumar’s life, cinematic legacy and enduring contribution to Bengali cinema. A wide range of programmes, including film festivals, cultural performances, memorial events, seminars, exhibitions, publications and archival initiatives, are expected to be organised throughout the year.

Besides advising the government on cultural, film, literary and archival initiatives, the committee will also monitor the implementation of approved programmes. It has been authorised to constitute sub-committees or working groups and to invite eminent personalities, institutions and subject experts to participate in its deliberations whenever necessary. The state government believes the year-long celebrations will serve as a fitting tribute to Uttam Kumar’s unparalleled contribution to Indian cinema and help introduce his artistic legacy to younger generations.