Moushumi Chatterjee, one of Indian cinema’s enduring talents, recently opened up about a deeply personal tragedy—the death of her daughter Payal in 2019 at the age of 45. In an interview, the actress revealed how the pain of that loss continues to haunt her and her husband, Jayant Mukherjee.
Reflecting on the void left behind, she confessed that the sorrow still weighs heavily on their hearts. “I don’t think my husband has completely gotten over Payal’s death. I am also not over it. This vacuum will be there throughout our lives,” she said. The grief, she explained, has become a permanent part of their reality.
The years leading up to Payal’s death were filled with difficulty. In 2018, a year before her passing, Moushumi had approached the court seeking legal guardianship of her daughter. She believed Payal was not receiving the necessary medical attention and claimed she had been prevented from visiting her during her illness. Legal tensions also arose with Payal’s in-laws, reportedly tied to family and business disputes. The family discord, according to a report, caused further emotional strain. Moushumi shared that her younger daughter Megha and Megha’s husband were treated poorly and felt humiliated during that difficult period.
Addressing past rumours, Moushumi clarified that she did visit the hospital after Payal’s death, refuting suggestions that she had not been present. She shared the harrowing detail that Payal’s body remained in the morgue because the hospital bills had not been paid, adding to the emotional trauma. “I went to the hospital when she was no more. She was kept in a morgue because the hospital’s bill wasn’t paid. I took all that nonsense,” she recalled, her words revealing both sorrow and strength.
Moushumi also spoke about the bond between her daughters, noting how Payal had been almost maternal towards Megha due to the eight-year age gap between them. “We can’t get over this grief. When a child dies, nobody can get over that. Payal was very motherly to Megha,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion.
Payal had been battling diabetes and had spent two years in a coma before she passed away. She was married to businessman Dicky Sinha.
Known for her memorable roles in films like Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Manzil, Moushumi Chatterjee made her debut in 1967 with Balika Badhu and has left an indelible mark in both Hindi and Bengali cinema. She married Jayant Mukherjee, the son of music icon Hemant Kumar, in 1972. Despite her decades in the spotlight, it is this personal loss that has etched the deepest lines into her life—a pain she says will never fully heal.
