Every actor worth his salt plays a particular type of character really well; so well, in fact, that it becomes nigh on impossible to think of anyone else in such roles. His performances in these roles become the index on which others are judged...and more often than not, failed.
Examples are aplenty. Rajesh Khanna made the intense, emotionally-torn-between-love-and-duty character entirely his own (and make no mistake, it still remains his, despite the best efforts of Mannatian pretenders); Amitabh Bachchan shall remain the last word when it comes to portraying the volcanic, superhot rebel with a greater social justice in mind till kingdom come; and hardly anyone can beat Mannatians when it comes to snatching other people's girlfriends and fiancees (Rolls Royces and Tata Nanos don't mix too well, but you get the drift...and hopefully the sarcasm too).
But when it comes to portraying the elder brother who holds together the mainmast of a middle-class family sailing through troubled waters - and here, an interview of Soumitra Chatterjee comes to mind - even god bows before Uttam Kumar. As Chatterjee had astutely observed, the character came so naturally to UK because he *was* that man in real life.
[Image courtesy: Google Images]
Even in an otherwise none-too-sparkling film like 'Dui Prithibi' (The Two Worlds, 1980), UK is the living, breathing embodiment of the eldest son/elder brother who stands tall amid the ruined moralities of his rapidly-disintegrating-in-values family that has tasted the sweet taste of money after several years of hardships and won't let go. The pregnant pauses, the sad headshakes, the silent, shadowed eyes...really, there's hardly anything more worthwhile than watching The Greatest Master of All going about wielding his craft even on an ordinary day in the field.
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