Sharmila Tagore Shares Insights into ‘Nayak’ and Her Work with Uttam Kumar

In a retrospective, Sharmila Tagore discussed her work with Uttam Kumar and Satyajit Ray. She emphasized the importance of ‘Nayak’ in her filmography, while also recalling other films with Kumar, including ‘Sesh Anka,’ and the bilinguals ‘Amanush’ and ‘Anand Ashram.’ Tagore initially ranked ‘Debi,’ ‘Apur Sansar,’ and ‘Aranyer Din Ratre’ above ‘Nayak,’ but she has since changed her opinion. She praised Kumar’s acting in ‘Nayak,’ highlighting the film’s themes of a star’s isolation and the fragility of public perception. She appreciated the film’s unique narrative structure, where characters interact briefly during a train journey, and its lasting impact.