Santosh Dutta was a Bengali character actor and immortalized in the character of Jatayu in Satyajit Ray`s Feluda movies, including Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. Santosh Dutta despite being a comedian and, has elevated comedy acting to the varied levels of character roles. After `Sonar Kella`, he became deeply rooted with the role of "Jatayu" that Satyajit Ray later remodelled the appearance of Jatayu and made the sketches of Jatayu accordingly in Feluda novels. After the death of this unmatched actor, Ray once said that there would be no further movies in the Feluda series,
as the role of Jatayu cannot be thought of without Santosh Dutta.
Apart from playing Jatayu, Santosh Dutta also paid vital roles in Satyajit Ray`s masterpiece films for children like Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen and Hirak Rajar Deshe. In "Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen", Santosh Dutta played the roles of kings of "Halla" and "Shundi". He played the role of a scientist along with a small appearance for the same `King of Shundi` in "Hirak Rajar Deshe", which is a sequel to the film `Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen`.
Another milestone in Santosh Dutta`s career was playing the character of Gopal Bhar in the movie of same name, Gopal Bhar. His humorous character is known for centuries in India, particularly in the state of West Bengal. Santosh Dutta is also seen acting in important roles for the films like Ogo Badhu Sundari, Paras Pathar, Teen Kanya, Streer Patra, Kapurush O Mahapurush, Jana Aranya, Marjina Abdallah, Char Murti and Gana Devata.
Year Film Name Director Genre Role
1958 Paras Pathar Satyajit Ray Actor
1958 Headmaster Agragami Actor
1961 Teen Kanya Satyajit Ray Actor
1965 Mahapurush Satyajit Ray Actor
1968 Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne Satyaj
it Ray Actor
1973 Marjina Abdulla Dinen Gupta Actor
1973 Shriman Prithviraj Tarun Majumdar Actor
1974 Jadu Bansha Partha Prathim Choudhury Actor
1974 Sonar Kella Satyajit Ray Actor
1976 Asadharan Salil Sen Actor
1977 Ei Prithibir Panthanibas Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1977 Shesh Raksha Shankar Bhattacharya Actor
1977 Sister Pijush Bose Actor
1977 Joi Baba Felunath Satyajit Ray Actor
1978 Charmurti Umanath Bhattacharya Actor
1979 Ghatkali Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1979 Brajabuli Pijush Bose Actor
1980 Abhi Apurba Kumar Mitra Actor
1980 Hirak Rajar Deshe Satyajit Ray Actor
1980 Sandhi Amal Dutta Actor
1980 Paka Dekha Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1980 Gopal Bhanar Amal Sur Actor
1981 Subarnalata Bijoy Bose Actor
1981 Ogo Bodhu Sundari Salil Dutta Actor
1982 Khelar Putul Tarun Majumdar Actor
1982 Malancha Purnendu Pattrea Actor
1982 Rasamoyeer Rasikata Amal Sur Actor
1983 Kauke Bolo Na Vishwanath Mukherjee Actor
1983 Duti Pata Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1983 Srinkhal Abir Basu Actor
1984 Pujarini Partha Prathim Choudhury Actor
1984 Shilalipi Palash Bannerjee Actor
1984 Rajeswari Salil Dutta Actor
1984 Sorgol Biswajit Actor
1984 Lolita Tapan Choudhury Actor
1984 Amar Geeti Tarun Majumdar Actor
1984 Joy Parajoy Chandan Mukherjee Actor
1985 Nishante Narayan Chakraborty Actor
1985 Hulusthul Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1985 Baikunther Will Sushil Mukherjee Actor
1985 Aamar Prithibi Bimal Bhowmick Actor
1986 Dui Adhyay Goutam Mukhopadhyay Actor
1986 Urbashe Salil Dutta Actor
1987 Abir Kamal Majumdar Actor
1987 Samrat-O-Sundari Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1988 Agni Sanket Swarup Dutta Actor
1989 Gili Gili Gay Ishwar Chakraborty Actor
1991 Palataka Saran Dey Actor.