Veteran Bengali Singer Sandhya Mukherjee Passes Away At 90

Sandhya Mukherjee, the veteran Bengali singer passed away on February 15. The legendary singer breathed her last following a massive cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Kolkata, where she was admitted in January last week. Sandhya Mukherjee had recently made headlines after she refused to accept the Padma Shri this year.

According to reports, the 90-year-old was admitted to the hospital on January 27, 2022, after she was infected with the COVID-19 virus. Sandhya Mukherjee had developed heart and lung complications after getting infected by Coronavirus, and was under treatment for the same. Even though she had recovered from COVID-19, her health deteriorated yesterday.

"Mrs. Sandhya Gupta (Mukherjee) suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at around 7:30 pm after suffering from an irregular heartbeat and could not be revived. The hospital deeply mourns the passing away of the legendary singer," said the hospital in an official statement.

"She had recovered from Covid-19 and was stable. Yesterday her condition deteriorated but we hadn't thought that she would pass away. She led a disciplined life. Today we have lost a legend," said the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee, mourning the demise of Sandhya Mukherjee.

Sandhya Mukherjee, who was born and bought up in Kolkata, was a student of Usthad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. She began her career as a playback singer in Bengali cinema, and was a part of the industry for around 8 decades. She had aso won the National Film Award for Best Playback singer in 1970 for the songs in Bengali films Jay Jayanti and Nishi Padma. Sandhya Mukherjee was also a part of Bollywood for a brief time and had sung in 17 Hindi films.

She was married to Bengali Poet Shyamal Gupta, who passed away in 2010.

The legendary singer was awarded the Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian honour of the West Bengal state. In 2022, Sandhya Mukherjee had made headlines by declining the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. "Padma Shri is more deserving for a junior artiste, not 'Gitasree' Sandhya Mukherjee. Her family and all the lovers of her songs feel bad," said her daughter Soumi Sengupta.