Bengali Actor-turned-politician Tapas Paul passes away in Mumbai

Kolkata:Actor-turned-politician Tapas Paul, who shot into fame and popularitywith his debut film Dadar Kirti (1980), died of cardiac arrest early this morning in Mumbai.He was 61.

According to family sources, he suffered a heart attack at the airport while returning to

Kolkata.Paul was rushed to Juhu hospital in Mumbai, where he  breathed his last at a private

hospital in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday.

In a message, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the passing awayof superstar of Bengali cinema  and said, " Saddened and shocked to hear about the demiseof Tapas Paul."

" Saddened & shocked to hear about the demise of Tapas Paul. He was a superstar ofBengali cinema who was a member of the Trinamool family.Tapas served the people as atwo-term MP and MLA," she said.

"We will miss him dearly. My condolences to his wife Nandini, daughter Sohini & his many

fans," Ms Banerjee added.Bengali film superstar and Trinamool MP Dev Adhikari in a tweet massage said, "Sad to hear about Tapas Da...May his soul rest in Peace....Ur contribution to Bengali films will always be celebrated."

Bengali actor Jeet  in a massage said, "Saddened and shocked to know about suddendemise of Tapas Pal. Condolences to the bereaved family. RIP."

Former state minister and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader tweeted, "Deeplysaddened and shocked to hear about the untimely passing away of dear colleague andformer superstar of Bengali cinema Tapas Pal. My deepest condolences to his wife Nandini and their daughter. No matter what, your memories will always be etched myfriend!! #RIP."

Paul shot to fame and popularity with his debut film Dadar Kirti (1980), a romanticdrama by Tarun Majumdar, and sustained his fame with films like Saheb (1981), ParabatPriya (1984), Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985), Anurager Choyan (1986), Amar Bandhan(1986) to name few.

He was awarded the Filmfare Award for his role in Saheb (1981).(UNI)