Pranab Mukherjee sir was beyond politics. He was a teacher all the way: Rituparna Sengupta

Strap: Rituparna Sengupta says that late Pranab Mukherjee, ex-President of India was an astute and knowledgeable man, and it is a great loss to the world to lose such a great statesman like him.

The recent death of India’s former President Pranab Mukherjee came as a shock to the entire country. After serving as the Union Finance Minister of India from 2009 to 2012, he became the 13th President of the country in 2012 and served until 2017. On Teacher’s day today, actor Rituparna Sengupta remembers the “great statesman”. “Pranab Mukherjee sir was beyond a politician. Who didn’t regard him? He was one of the most sought after personalities. He was very astute, knowledgeable and learned. He was an avid reader and very rooted in his culture; he knew a lot about literature. Whenever he would have discussions, he would always quote the great writers and philosophers. He was an articulate man who would give such inspiring speeches and there are so many qualities that we can imbibe from him. His life was like a drawing board of life lessons, which we can all learn so much from,” says Sengupta.

Rituparna Sengupta had met late Pranab Mukherjee on a number of occasions, including the time when she screened her movie Muktodhara at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2013.

The actor adds that she had met Mukherjee on a number of occasions and each meeting with him was an extremely pleasant experience for her. “I met him during a few events such as book launches and newspaper summits. He was always very amicable and would notice every little detail around him. Even though he had a strong personality, he was very lovable,” says Sengupta.

The actor who has been doing films for over two decades now, says that screening her film Muktodhara (2012) for the former President was a rare honour for her and she feels extremely privileged to have got the opportunity to do so. “In 2013, we had got an invitation to screen Muktodhara for Mukherjee sir and Mrs Mukherjee. We had gone to the Rashtrapati Bhavan with our small cast and crew and had screened the movie for him. It was such a pleasant surprise that the President had taken out three hours out of his busy schedule to watch our film with the utmost attention. He loved the movie and praised all our work in it. In fact, Mrs Mukherjee was very fond of me and whenever I would visit Delhi, I would meet her,” says the 48-year-old actor.

Adding that Mukherjee was one of the most loved Presidents of all time, Sengupta emphasises on the fact that his death is a great loss to the nation. She says, “He was a very successful finance minister and president. He knew the importance of knowledge and education. The entire nation can learn so much from him and he leaving us is a huge loss to the entire world. He was an asset, and all my condolences are with his family. We are all deeply saddened by his demise, but he has left us with a lot of knowledge and his insights that we are definitely privileged to be left with. There is a lot to learn from his teachings that he imparted through his contributions to this society.”