Supriya Devi passes away

Veteran Bengali film actress Supriya Devi died this morning at her residence in South Kolkata of India.

She died at the age of 83 and is survived by a daughter named Shoma Chatterjee, reports our Kolkata correspondent.

The Bangla film superstar died after a severe cardiac arrest in the morning, Shoma Chatterjee told journalists at their Baliganj Circular Road residence.

"My mother was suffering from severe heart disease for a long time," Shoma said adding that Supriya woke up to go to the washroom around 6:00am then went to bed again.

She might have passed away in her sleep, our Kolkata correspondent quotes Shoma as saying.

Born in 1933, Supriya Devi was known for her work over five decades. She entered the theatre world at the young age of seven under the shadow of her father, Gopal Chandra Banerjee.

She had made her film-debut in Uttam Kumar-starrer 'Basu Parivar' in 1952. She acted in 45 films till 2006. 'Chowringhee', 'Bagh Bandi Khela' and 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' are among her classics.

She received the Padma Shri and the West Bengal government's highest civilian award Banga Bibhushan besides the Filmfare East Lifetime Achievement Award.

Many expressed grief at the demise of the legendary actress including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee and Prosenjit Chatterjee, the correspondent reports.