Dadar kirti : The feat of Tapas Pal

I first saw Tapas Pal in his debut film Dadar Kirti long after it was released in 1980.
It was a relaxed Sunday noon in early ninety when Delhi Doordarshan beamed that feature film nationally.
From the very first look he seemed to be a very gentle man with genteel disposition. He smiled innocence. The way he handled kedarnath, the character-role he played in Dadar Kirti, made him an endearing figure not only to Saraswati, the hard-to-crack heroine solely, but to the almost entire Bengali cine lovers. They hailed him as a romantic hero, next only to matinee idol Uttamkumar. The roles Tapas Pal played at that time revolved around the innate goodness of his character.
Tapas Pal entered politics at the fag end of nineties. He was rewarded with two consecutive terms as an MLA. Later he was upgraded to a respectable Member of Parliament.
The world of politics is like a brain-washing machine of Hirak Rajar Deshe fame. So the proverbial gentleman of film industry became a “Mal of Chandanagar“—a notorious crook of Chandannagore – in his own admission.
Tapas Pal, who earlier in the avatar of Kedarnath implored to let him touch the feet of Saraswati, the heroine, could unleash hundreds of toughs and goons in the houses of his rival party to “rape” the women folk. Because he asserted, he was good at “criminality.”
Tapas Pal later was charged and arrested for siphoning off crores of public money.
He was released on bail.
He died within months of getting bail.
His enduring trademark smile still stood out and seemed to mock at his own life.