Legendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee died due to a massive cardiac attack at a private hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. She was 90. Mukherjee garnered an iconic status during her lifetime and had refused the Padma Shri award recently on January 24. She tested Covid-19 positive three days later at the state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after she was admitted with signs of lung infection and breathlessness. Mukherjee was found to be suffering from a serious heart condition that further complicated her health. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shifted her to Apollo Hospital, with doctors stating that her condition had deteriorated on Tuesday afternoon and she died in the evening. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law.

Born in Kolkata in 1931, Sandhya Mukherjee sang her first song for the Hindi film, Anjaan Garh, in 1948, composed by Rai Chand Boral. A former pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, she collaborated with legendary composers like S D Burman, Roshan, and Madan Mohan to name a notable few in her 70-year glorious career. Mukherjee, who resided in south Kolkata’s Lake Gardens area, crooned thousands of songs in Bengali cinema in modern and semi-classical music, while also singing several songs in Bollywood films. She is particularly remembered for her duets with Hemant Kumar, with the music industry honoring her with the title Geetashree.

In 2011, Mukherjee was felicitated with the Banga Bibhusan, the highest civilian honor given by the Bengal government. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1970 for the films, Jay Jayanti (a Bengali remake of Sound of Music) and Nishi Padma, which was later remade in Hindi as Amar Prem with Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his tributes to the late singer on Twitter and wrote, "The passing away of Gitashree Sandhya Mukhopadhyay Ji leaves us all extremely saddened. Our cultural world is a lot poorer. Her melodious renditions will continue to enthral the coming generations. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this sad hour. Om Shanti."

The passing away of Gitashree Sandhya Mukhopadhyay Ji leaves us all extremely saddened. Our cultural world is a lot poorer. Her melodious renditions will continue to enthral the coming generations. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this sad hour. Om Shanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 15, 2022