Savour Uttam Kumar's favourite food in Kolkata restaurant

A special collection of dishes comprising the favourite recipes of Bengali cinema's legend Uttam Kumar was Wednesday launched by a city restaurant to celebrate the actor's 88th birth anniversary.

Dubbed 'Mahanayak' (great actor, in Bengali), Uttam Kumar, born Sep 3, 1926, formed the greatest romantic pair in the regional film industry's history with Suchitra Sen who passed away in January.

His most popular films with the screen goddess include "Share Chuattor", "Agni Pariksha", "Shilpi", "Saptapadi", "Pathe Holo Deri" and "Harano Sur".

A Bengali speciality restaurant named after the cult film 'Saptapadi' in south Kolkata's Baghajatin area has customised its menu based on the number seven.

It has also come up with a Uttam Kumar special thaali for nostalgic cinegoers.

"All the sections in our menu, starting from starters to beverages, have seven items.

"The special thaali for the actor's birthday includes Bengali chingri malai curry (coconut prawn curry) and Bhetki machher kantar chorchori (Bhekti fish bones curry) that were known to be his favourites," Sourav Mondal, one of the proprietors, told IANS.

The platter also consists of a pulao, loochi (fried bread) and malpua (pancake).

"All the items are supposed to be his favourites. The thaali will be availble till Sep 14," he said.

With a legion of fans across Bengal and Bangladesh, Uttam Kumar churned out as many as 202 films in a career spanning the golden age of Bengali cinema during the 1950s to the 1970s.

The national award winner worked with filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha. His most notable Hindi film was "Amanush".

He died July 24, 1980 after a heart attack while filming "Ogo Bodhu Sundori".