Anand actress Sumita Sanyal passes away at 71

Actress Sumita Sanyal, Amitabh Bachchan's heroine in the iconic Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, Anand (1971), passed away at her Kolkata residence on Sunday. She was 71.

Reports suggest that the actress, who had been ailing for sometime, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at 10.30am.

In an acting career of over 20 years, Sanyal starred in several prominent Bengali and Hindi films. Having made her debut in the 1960 Bengali film, Khoka Babur Pratyabartan, she became a household name with her performances in films like Satyajit Ray's Nayak (1966) and Tapan Sinha's Apanjan (1968) and Sagina Mahato (1970).

While she was known for her prominence in Bengali cinema, she acted alongside some of the most popular names of Hindi cinema as well. Sanyal made her Hindi cinema in the Ashok Kumar-starrer, Aashirwad (1968). She was cast opposite Bachchan in the Mukherjee hit, Anand (1971). The actress also played an important role in the Jaya Bachchan-starrer, Guddi (1971), and writer-director Gulzar's Mere Apne (1971).

The well-known actress was born Manjula Sanyal in Darjeeling, on 9 October 1945.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee tweeted her condolences on hearing news about the actress's death.

Prominent Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee said he was 'saddened' on hearing about the demise of the actress.

The actress was married to film editor Subodh Roy, and is survived by a son.