Suchitra Sen: All About Mahanayika Of Bengali Films

You must have heard about the legendary Indian actress, Suchitra Sen who primarily worked in Bengali cinema, known as the "Queen of Bengali Cinema". She was one of the most popular and influential actresses in Indian cinema, with a career spanning over four decades. 

Sen became the first Indian actress to win an award at an international film festival when she took home the Silver Prize for Best Actress for Saat Pake Bandha at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival. She shot to fame when Devaki Kumar Bose cast her as Vishnupriya in his Bhagaban Shree Krishna Chaitanya (1953).

Her Personal Life

On April 6, 1925, Suchitra Sen was born into a Bengali Baidya family in the village of Bhanga Bari, in the Sirajganj District of Bengal (now in the Sirajganj District of Bangladesh). Her mother, Indira Devi, was a housewife, while her father, Korunamoy Dasgupta, was a Sanitary Inspector of the Pabna Municipality. Her family was forced to relocate to West Bengal, which was comparatively safe for Hindus, after the bloodshed of Partition in 1947.

Actress Suchitra Sen

Here, in 1947, at the age of 21, she got married to Dibanath Sen, the affluent industrialist's son. Her only child, the former actress Moon Moon Sen, is an actor. Adinath Sen, Suchitra's father-in-law, encouraged her to pursue an acting career in movies following her marriage.

Sen made an excellent debut in Bengali films in 1952, followed by a less successful shift to the Hindi film industry. According to frequent but unverified claims in the Bengali press, her marriage was strained by her fame in the film industry.

All About Her Career

Suchitra Sen made her movie début in 1952 with Shesh Kothaay, which was never released. The next year, she appeared opposite Uttam Kumar in Nirmal Dey's film Sharey Chuattor. It was a box-office success and is notable for introducing Uttam-Suchitra as a prominent couple. They went on to become Bengali theatrical superstars for over 20 years, nearly creating their own genre.

She has appeared in 30 of her 60 films alongside Uttam Kumar. Dilip Kumar won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and Vyjayantimala won Best Supporting Actress for Devdas (1955), while Sen was not even nominated for Best Actress. This was her debut Hindi film. Her Bengali melodramas and romances, particularly with Uttam Kumar, established her as the most well-known Bengali actress of all time.

All About Her Achievements

Suchitra Sen had a well-known appearance in Deep Jwele Jaai (1959). She portrayed Radha Mitra, a hospital nurse who works under progressive psychiatrist Pahadi Sanyal and is required to get to know her male patients on an intimate level as part of their treatment. The protagonist, Basanta Choudhury, is diagnosed by Sanyal as having an unresolved Oedipal crisis. Radha is reluctant to play the part because, in a previous instance, she had fallen in love with the patient, but he commands her to. At last, she gives in to Choudhury's abuse, pretends to be his mother, sings his beautiful songs, and in the process, falls in love once more.

Suchitra Sen received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, in 1972. She withdrew from public life and avoided all public interactions starting in 1979; as a result, she is frequently likened to Greta Garbo. In an attempt to avoid the spotlight, she turned down the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's top cinematic honor, in 2005.[8] She received the highest honor bestowed by the West Bengal government in 2012—the Banga Bibhushan.

A scheduling conflict prevented Suchitra Sen from accepting Satyajit Ray's offer. Ray never produced the movie Devi Chaudhurani, which was based on Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel. She also turned down Raj Kapoor's proposal for a movie released under the RK brand. After retiring, she studiously stayed out of the spotlight and focused on the Ramakrishna Mission.

On December 24, 2013, Suchitra Sen was admitted to the hospital, and her condition was determined to be a lung infection. The first week of January saw reports that she was healing nicely. However, her condition deteriorated over time, and on January 17, 2014, at 8:25 a.m., a heart attack claimed her life.

Her final rituals were conducted at Kolkata's Kaioratola crematorium, barely five and a half hours after her death, in observance of her intense wish for total secrecy. Her coffin arrived at the crematorium in a hearse decorated with flowers and dark-tinted windows. "Mahanayika," the biggest star in Bengal, had deliberately decided to fade into obscurity and remained mysterious till her death, even though hundreds of followers had flocked to the cremation to see their idol before she went away. Additionally, her entire medical care had been administered in private and secrecy.