By Jagmohan Singh Barhok

Keshto Mukherjee is regarded as a comedian who could play the role of a ‘drunkard’ with unbelievable perfection & precision . Most cine-goers believed he was used to drinking for they could never digest the fact that a person could perform or imitate a heavily drunk person, on camera, so convincingly.

Mukherjee started his career in film in early 1950s.One of his earlier films was “Do Bigha Zameen” (1953). I n a career spanning nearly three decades the comedian acted in hundreds of films playing minor roles, more notably of a drunkard, peon, vendour, taxi -driver, policeman, prisoner, waiter , rarely enacting a gentleman.

His prominent films include the likes of -“Zanzeer”, “Sholay”, “Pratiggya”,”Kaala Sona”,”Koshish”,”Bindiya Aur Bandook”, “Mehrban”, “Geeta Mera Naam”, “Parichay”, “Padosan”, “Chanda Aur Bijli”,”Anokhi Raat”, “Baazi” & “Sanjog”.The last also featuring Amitabh Bachchan & Mala Sinha.

Born 7 August 1925 in Calcutta now renamed Kolkata.