Suchitra Sen
Encyclopedia
Suchitra Sen
; (listen:) or Rama Dasgupta , (listen:) is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n actress who acted in several Bengali films. In particular, the movies in which she paired opposite another legend in Bengali films, Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

, became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. She now lives a life of a recluse rarely making any public appearances. When she left movies, she was slowly but steadily losing the position of leading lady of Bengali silver screen.

She is the first Indian actress to be awarded in an international film festival (Best Actress award for the movie Saat Paake Bandha in 1963 Moscow film festival). Her films with Uttam Kumar are still shown as re-runs on Bengali TV channels such as ETV Bangla, Aakash Bangla, DD7 Bangla and so forth; many of them are available on video CD. Notably, she allegedly refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.The award for a particular year is...

 in 2005, preferring to live in seclusion out of the public eye.

Personal life and education

Sen was born in Pabna
Pabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...

, British India (now Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

). Her father Karunamoy Dasgupta was the head master of the local school and her mother Indira Devi was a homemaker. She was their fifth child and third daughter. She had her formal education in Pabna.

She married Dibanath Sen, son of a wealthy Bengali industrialist, Adinath Sen, in 1947 and had one child, Moon Moon Sen, a noted actress.

Sen made a successful entry after marriage into Bengali films circa 1952, and then a less successful transition to the Bollywood film industry. According to some unconfirmed but persistent reports in the Bengali press, her marriage was severely strained by her success in the film industry.

Career

Sen made her debut in films with Shesh Kothaay in 1952, but the film was never released. The following year saw her act opposite Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

 in Sharey Chuattor a film by Nirmal Dey. The film was a box-office hit and remembered for launching Uttam-Suchitra as a leading pair. They went on to become the icons for Bengali dramas for more than 20 years, becoming almost a genre to themselves.
She received a Best Actress Award for the film Devdas
Devdas (1955 film)
Devdas is a 1955 film directed by Bimal Roy, based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel, Devdas.In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.-Plot:...

 (1955), which was her first Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 movie. Her patented Bengali melodramas and romances especially with Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

, made her the most famous Bengali actress ever. Her films ran through the 1960s and the 1970s. Her husband died, but she continued to act in films, such as the Hindi hit film Aandhi
Aandhi
Aandhi is a 1975 Indian movie supposedly based on then-prime minister Indira Gandhi's life, but in reality, it was inspired by Tarkeshwari Sinha, apart from Indira Gandhi. It was directed by Gulzar...

 (1974), where she played a politician. Aandhi
Aandhi
Aandhi is a 1975 Indian movie supposedly based on then-prime minister Indira Gandhi's life, but in reality, it was inspired by Tarkeshwari Sinha, apart from Indira Gandhi. It was directed by Gulzar...

 was inspired by India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

. Sen received a Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...

 nomination as Best Actress, while Sanjeev Kumar, who essayed the role of her husband, won the Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...

 as Best Actor.

One of Suchitra's best known performances was in Deep Jweley Jai (1959). She played Radha, a hospital nurse employed by a progressive psychiatrist, Pahadi Sanyal, and is expected to develop a personal relationship with male patients as part of their therapy. Sanyal diagnoses the hero, Basanta Choudhury, as having an unresolved Oedipal dilemma -the inevitable consequence for men denied a nurturing woman. He orders Radha to play the role though she is hesitant as earlier in a similar case she had fallen in love with the patient. She finally agrees and bears up to Choudhury's violence, impersonates his mother, sings his poetic compositions and in the process falls in love yet again. In the end even as she brings about his cure, she suffers a nervous breakdown. The film is full of beautiful often partly lit close ups of Sen which set the tone of the film and is aided by a mesmerizing performance by her. Asit Sen remade the film in Hindi as Khamoshi with Waheeda Rehman in the Suchitra Sen role.

Suchitra's other landmark film with Asit Sen was Uttar Falguni (1963). Suchitra carries the film single-handedly all on her own in the dual role of a courtesan Pannabai and her daughter Suparna, a lawyer. In particular, she is brilliant as Pannabai, bringing much poise, grace and dignity in the role of a fallen woman determined to see her daughter grow up in a good,clean environment. Suchitra as Pannabai is able to connect directly with the viewer and make him or her feel deeply for all that she goes through the course of the film thus giving her death at the end of the film a solid, emotional wallop.
Her international success came in the year of 1963, when she won the best actress award in Moscow Film Festival for the movie Saat Paake Bandha. In fact, she is the first female to receive an international film award.

She refused Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

's offer due to date problem, as a result Ray never made the film Devi Chawdhurani. She also refused Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor
Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...

's offer for a film under RK banner. She retired from the screen in 1978 after a career of over 25 years to a life of quiet seclusion. She has avoided the public gaze after her retirement and has devoted her time to the Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The Ramakrishna Mission is a philanthropic, volunteer organization founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on...

. Suchitra Sen was a contender for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.The award for a particular year is...

 for the year 2005, provided she was ready to accept it in person. Her refusal to go to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

 and personally receive the award from the President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

 deprived her of that award.

Selected Bengali filmography

Year Movie Director Co-stars
1953  Saat Number Kayedi  Sukumar Dasgupta  Samar Roy
1953  Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya  Debaki Bose
Debaki Bose
Debaki Bose , also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was a top director, writer, actor of Bengali cinema/Indian cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalpoush, Burdwan, Bengal, British India. He died on 17 November 1971 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is known for his innovative use of sound...

 
Basanta Choudhuri
1953  Sharey Chuattor
Sharey Chuattor
Sharey Chuattor was the 1953 comedy film, directed by Nirmal Dey, story by Bijon Bhattacharya, starring Tulsi Chakrabarti and Molina Devi, and co-starring Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar. Contemporary playback singers like Dhananjay, Dwijen Mukherjee, Shamol Mitra and Manabendra Mukherjee acted in...

 
Nirmal Dey  Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

1953  Kajori  Niren Lahiri 
1954  Sadanander Mela  Sukumar Dasgupta  Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

1954  Agnipariksha
Agni Pariksha (1954 film)
Agni Pariksha is 1954 Bengali film directed by Agradoot starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen.-Plot:...

 
Agradoot
Agradoot
Agradoot is a group of film technicians signing collectively as director, a phenomenon unique to Bengali cinema. The Agradoot core unit, formed in 1946, consisted initially of Bibhuti Laha , Jatin Datta , Sailen Ghosal , Nitai Bhattacharya and Bimal Ghosh .-Filmography:* Agni Pariksha * Sabar Uparey...

 
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

1954  Ora Thaake Odhare  Sukumar Dasgupta  Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...

1954  Grihaprabesh  Ajay Kar Uttam Kumar
1954  Atom Bomb Taru Mukherjee Robin Majumdar
1954  Dhuli Pinaki Mukherjee Prasanta Kumar
1954  Maraner Parey Satish Dasgupta Uttam Kumar
1954  Balaygras Pinaki Mukherjee Uttam Kumar
1954  Annapurnar Mandir Naresh Mitra Uttam Kumar
1955  Shapmochan Sudhir Mukherjee Uttam Kumar
1955  Sabar Uparey
Sabar Uparey
Sabar Uparey is a 1955 Bengali film directed by Agradoot, based on A.J. Cronin's 1953 novel, Beyond This Place. It starred acclaimed actors Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen in leading roles...

 
Agradoot Uttam Kumar
1955  Snaajhghar Ajay Kar Bikash Roy
1955  Devdas (Hindi) Bimal Roy Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....

1955  Snaajher Pradeep Sudhangshu Mukherjee Uttam Kumar
1955  Mejo Bou Debnarayan Gupta Bikash Roy
1955  Bhalabaasa Debaki Bose Bikash Roy
1956  Sagarika Agragami Uttam Kumar
1956  Trijama Agradoot Uttam Kumar
1956  Amar Bou Khagen Roy Bikash Roy
1956  Shilpi Agragami Uttam Kumar
1956  Ekti Raat Chitto Bose Uttam Kumar
1956  Subharaatri Sushil Majumdar Basanta Choudhury
1957  Harano Sur
Harano Sur
Harano Sur is a 1957 film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar, with music by Hemanta Mukherjee, and sung by Geeta Dutt.The film is regarded as one of the finest examples of Bengali cinema of this early golden period.-Synopsis:...

 
Ajay Kar Uttam Kumar
1957  Pathe Holo Deri Agradoot Uttam Kumar
1957  Jeeban Trishna Asit Sen Uttam Kumar
1957 Chandranath Kartick Chatterjee Uttam Kumar
1957 Musafir (Hindi) Hrishikesh Mukherjee Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....

1957 Champakali (Hindi) Nandlal Jaswantlal Bharat Bhushan
1958 Rajlakshmi O Srikanta Haridas Bhattacharya Uttam Kumar
1958 SuryaToran Agradoot Uttam Kumar
1958 Indrani Niren Lahiri Uttam Kumar
1959 Deep Jwele Jaai
Deep Jwele Jaai
Deep jwele jai or Deep Jweley Jai was a Bengali movie directed by Asit Sen released in 1959.-Plot:This is a story of a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, played by Suchitra Sen. Sen's character is a part of a team exploring new therapy for patients who have suffered emotional trauma...

 
Asit Sen Basanta Choudhury
1959 Chaaowa Pawoa Jatrik Uttam Kumar
1960 Hospital Sushil Majumdar Ashok Kumar
1960 Smriti Tuku Thaak Jatrik Asitbaran
1960 Bombai Ka Baboo (Hindi) Raj Khosla Dev Anand
1960 Sarhad (Hindi) Shankar Mukherjee Dev Anand
1961 Saptapadi
Saptapadi (film)
Saptapadi Bengali Film is a 1961 film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Chhabi Biswas, Chaya Debi.-Synopsis:Its a love story with a twist set in Bengal in pre independent India ; the time when young Indian students were competing equally with British 'goras' in all fields whether it...

 
Ajay Kar Uttam Kumar
1961 Saathihara Sukumar Dasgupta Uttam Kumar
1962 Bipasha Agradoot Uttam Kumar
1963 Saat Paake Badha  Ajay Kar Soumitra Chatterjee
1963 Uttar Phalguni Asit Sen Bikash Roy, Dilip Mukherjee
1964 Sandhya Deeper Sikha Haridas Bhattacharya Bikash Roy
1966 Mamta (Hindi) Asit Sen Ashok Kumar, Dharmendra
1967 Grihadaha Subodh Mitra Uttam Kumar
1969 Kamallata Harisadhan Dasgupta Uttam Kumar
1970 Megh Kalo Sushil Mukherjee Basanta Choudhury
1971 Fariyaad Bijoy Bose Utpal Dutta
1971 Nabaraag Bijoy Bose Uttam Kumar
1972 Alo Amaar Alo Pinaki Mukherjee Uttam Kumar
1972 Haar Maana Haar Salil Sen Uttam Kumar
1974 Devi Chaudhurani
Devi Chaudhurani
Devi Chaudhurani Devi Chaudhurani Devi Chaudhurani (Bangla: দেবী চৌধুরানী is a Bengali novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji and published in 1884. This was later translated to English by Subodh Chunder Mitter,...

 
Dinen Gupta Ranjit Mallick
1974 Srabana Sandhya Chitra Sarathi Samar Roy
1975 Priyo Bandhabi Hiren Nag Uttam Kumar
1975 Aandhi (Hindi) Gulzar Sanjeev Kumar
1976 Datta Ajay Kar Soumitra Chatterjee
1978 Pranoy Pasha Mangal Chakrabarty Soumitra Chatterjee

Selected Hindi filmography

  • Devdas
    Devdas (1955 film)
    Devdas is a 1955 film directed by Bimal Roy, based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel, Devdas.In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.-Plot:...

    (1955), co-starring Dilip Kumar
    Dilip Kumar
    Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....

    ;
  • Musafir
    Musafir (1957 film)
    Musafir is a 1957 Hindi movie. Written by Ritwik Ghatak and Hrishikesh Mukherjee the film is about a house and the lives of three families who live in it, so in essence it is three stories linked by the house. The movie is Hrishikesh's directorial debut. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar,...

    (1957), co-starring Dilip Kumar
    Dilip Kumar
    Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....

    ;
  • Champakali (1957)
  • Bombai Ka Baboo (1960),co-starring Dev Anand
    Dev Anand
    Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...

    ;
  • Mamta
    Mamta
    Mamta may refer to:* Mamta , the title of at least five films spanning 1936 to 1966* Mamta * Mamta * Mamta * Mamta * Mamta ...

    (1966) (a remake of her Bengali film Uttor Falguni) co-starring Dharmendra
    Dharmendra
    Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...

     and Ashok Kumar
    Ashok Kumar
    Ashok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...

  • Aandhi
    Aandhi
    Aandhi is a 1975 Indian movie supposedly based on then-prime minister Indira Gandhi's life, but in reality, it was inspired by Tarkeshwari Sinha, apart from Indira Gandhi. It was directed by Gulzar...

    (1975), co-starring Sanjeev Kumar; this film was banned for a while, because it was felt to portray Indira Gandhi
    Indira Gandhi
    Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

    http://www.tripurainfo.com/citizen_services/helping_bytes/april_born.html

Awards and nominations

Year Award
1963 Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...

 Best actress award for Saptapadi
Saptapadi (film)
Saptapadi Bengali Film is a 1961 film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Chhabi Biswas, Chaya Debi.-Synopsis:Its a love story with a twist set in Bengal in pre independent India ; the time when young Indian students were competing equally with British 'goras' in all fields whether it...

1967 Filmfare Best Actress Award
Filmfare Best Actress Award
The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954.-Superlatives:...

-Mamta
Mamta (1966 film)
Mamta is a Hindi film, directed by Asit Sen, with music by Roshan. The movie starred Suchitra Sen, Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra. The film performed "above average" at the box office.-Plot:...


External links

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