Suchitra Sen 

Suchitra Sen was one of the finest actress of Bengali cinema and of hindi cinema during the golden era and was often called as theMahanayika( Great actress ) having worked in cinema from the year 1952 to 1978. The movies in which she paired opposite Mahanayak Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.Suchitra Sen was born on 6 April 1931, in a Bengali hindu family in village Bhanga Bari of  Sirajganj District of Bangladesh.Her father, Korunamoy Dasgupta, was employed with Pabna Municipality and her mother- Indira Devi was a homemaker .The violence of Partition in 1947 brought her family to Kolkata where she married Dibanath Sen, son of wealthy industrialist Adinath Sen, in 1947, at the age of 16 years. She had one daughter, Moon Moon Sen who also became a film actress. Suchitra started her filmy career with 1952 film – Saat number kayedi but it was her 1953 hit film Sharey chuattor साढे चौहतर as heroin with Uttam kumar as the hero which turned her in to a star . From this film onwards; their pair became a leading one in Bengali cinema and both became famous Icons of bengali cinema for more than 20 years working together in 30 movies . She got the stardom after her role as Vishnupriya in Devaki Kumar Bose ‘s hit film -Bhagaban Shree Krishn Chaitanya (1953).She became the first Indian actress to receive an award at an international film festival when, at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival, she won the Silver Prize for Best Actress for famous bengali film Saat Pake Bandha. Her first appearance in hindi cinema was in 1955 superhit film – Devdas ,co-starring dilip kumar and Vijayantimala . Her other hindi films were -Bombai ka babu and film Sarhad both along with devanand in 1960 , film Mamta of 1966 along with Dharmendra and Ashok kumar and 1975 film -Aandhi along with Sanjiv kumar .A film critic Saibal Chatterjee summed up Suchitra Sen’s career and continuing legacy as :- “one half of one of Indian cinema’s most popular and abiding screen star , Suchitra Sen redefined stardom in a way that few actors have done, combining understated sensuality, feminine charm and emotive force and a no-nonsense gravitas to carve out a persona that has never been matched, let alone surpassed in Indian cinema “ . She continued to act after her husband’s death in 1970, but  retired from screen life in 1978 after a career of over 25 years to a life of quiet seclusion avoiding the public gaze  and devoted her time to the Ramakrishna Mission .In her illustrated acting career, she won the following awards :- 1963 – Won 3rd Moscow International Film Festival award for Best Actress for Bengali film “Saat Paake Badha” .1967 – Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress for hindi film Mamta

1972 – Won Padma Shri for notable contribution in arts

1975 – Won Filmfare Bangla Award for Best Actress for cinema Priya Bandhabi . 

1976 – Won BFJA Award for Best Actress for hindi film – Aandhi

1976 – Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress for hindi film Aandhi

2012 – Won Banga Bibhushan for lifetime achievement in film acting

2014 – Won Filmfare East Lifetime Achievement Award (Posthumously ) .

Suchitraji died at 8.25 am on 17 January 2014, out of heart attack at the age of 82 and her death was condoled by many including the then President ,  Pranab Mukherjee, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. A gun salute was given before her cremation at Kolkata’s kalighat crematorium . Despite being Bengal’s greatest star and called as Mahanayika , she had consciously chosen to step into oblivion and she remained an enigma till her last .She will always be remembered for her extraordinary artistry and her superb acting talent and delivering series of melodramatic and romantic bengali films . 

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            Six stars