Latest news with #SuchitraSen
Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Golden age star, who worked with Sanjeev Kumar, Uttam Kumar, didn't appear in public for 36 years on a holy man's suggestion; rejected Raj Kapoor's ‘personality'
Hollywood actor Great Garbo was one of the biggest stars of the silent films in the 1920s and 1930s. But once she left the movies, she retired from public life and turned into a recluse. No one knew why and people often wondered what prompted a star of her stature to live a lonely life, despite having many fans around the world. Closer home, actor Suchitra Sen went through something similar when she decided to lead a secluded life in the city of Kolkata, where she was widely known and loved. In her heyday, Suchitra was known as Paro from Dilip Kumar-starrer Devdas, the protagonist of Gulzar's Aandhi (who was compared to former PM Indira Gandhi), and her on-screen camaraderie with Uttam Kumar was often compared to the chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Suchita primarily worked in Bengali films but she reached a wider audience when she appeared in Hindi films, although she only appeared in a handful of them. But, after her last release in 1978, Pranay Pasha, Suchitra took a retirement from public appearances fully. Many have wondered why she chose to live as a recluse and while some suggest that she never wanted anyone to see her grow old, some have also theorised that there was a deep sadness within her that she did not wish to share with the world. Suchitra was one of the highest paid female actors of her time but as per author Gopal Krishna Roy, who wrote four books on her life, she turned her back on living in a regular society after a holy man told her to do so. Roy shared, in a 2014 chat with NDTV, that after Pranay Pasha flopped, Suchitra was deeply upset about it and headed to Ramakrishna Mission's headquarters near Kolkata. She met a holy man named Bharat Maharaj there and wept for hours. 'I later heard she sat at his feet and wept and wept,' he said and added, 'And Bharat Maharaj told her, 'Ma, ghridho, lobh koro na, don't be greedy. And that, I think, Mrs Sen translated into her own life by becoming a recluse.' Director Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who was an admirer of the actor, told Mint in 2014 that Suchitra, perhaps, wanted to 'remain beautiful for her fans.' 'Maybe, she wanted to remain beautiful for her fans and I see a likeness to Greta Garbo. What surprises me is that she didn't react to anything that happened around the world. Had Satyajit Ray got her to act in his proposed film Debi Chaudhurani maybe we would have seen a different Suchitra Sen, more so because Ray had the ability to get the best acting out of his characters. Maybe she wanted to remain a matinee idol. She did strong, women-centric roles and directors would shape the characters like that. But to be a great actor, you have to come out of that,' he said. ALSO READ | Bollywood star who worked with Rishi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi was arrested for trying to enter an ashram, has been missing for 20 years despite Rishi trying to find him Suchitra was one of the few actors who was offered the chance to work with Ray, and chose not to take it and she did something similar with Raj Kapoor as well. With Ray, when he offered her Debi Chaudhurani, she couldn't commit because he wanted to block a bunch of her dates. She couldn't do that as it would hamper her schedule and the other commitments she had made. Unfortunately, they never got a chance to work together again. In the case of Raj Kapoor, she refused to work with him because she 'did not like his personality.' In a conversation with Amitabh Choudhury for his book Aamar Bondhu Suchitra Sen, she shared that she refused Raj's offer 'almost immediately.' 'In men, I don't look for beauty. I look for intelligence and sharp conversations. I had refused Raj Kapoor's offer almost immediately. He came to my residence offering a lead role and, as I took my seat, he suddenly sat near my foot and offered me a bouquet of roses while offering the role. I rejected the offer. I did not like his personality. The way he behaved – sitting near my foot – did not befit a man,' she said. Suchitra was already married to Dibanath Sen when she was offered her first film. In fact, the offer came via her father-in-law Adinath Sen. But, in 1963, Suchitra and her husband separated, and in 1970, he died during a trip to the US. Their daughter, Moon Moon Sen, was 16 at the time, and Suchitra insisted that Dibanath's remains be brought to Kolkata, so Moon Moon could bid adieu to her late father. After she started living a solitary life in 1978, Suchitra was hardly seen out and about in Kolkata. But, in 1980, when her long-time co-actor and friend Uttam Kumar died, she came out to pay her last respects. Apart from that, she would sometimes be spotted by locals in markets, or on the roads but she would always be careful about walking with a scarf around her face, so no one would recognise her. Such was her resolve about not being in public that when she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005, she chose not to attend the ceremony. But, despite living a lonely life, her sense of humour never went away. Gopal Krishna Roy, who spent a lot of time with her after she moved away from films, recalled a hilarious anecdote in the same chat with NDTV in 2014. He accompanied her to a gynaecologist's office and after the visit, she confided in him about her conversation with the doctor. He recalled with a laugh, 'Mrs Sen took young Moon Moon on her lap and said, 'Gopal do you know what the doctor told me? The doctor told me I am still… and then she paused. So I said anxiously, what? What? Mrs Sen laughed and said… the doctor said I am still a virgin.' Suchitra left the world the same way she had lived in it for the past 36 years. When she died in 2014 at 82, there was a sea of people on the streets of Kolkata who wanted to catch her last glimpse. But, Suchitra was guarded within a coffin. It was almost like she had made that choice when she was hail and hearty. Nevertheless, her life post-1978 remained a mystery to everyone who knew her as a movie star and the way she detached herself from all the fame, was a constant source of speculation.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Cinematic tribute to Raj Khosla kicks off with ‘Bambai Ka Babu' screening
The Film Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with Raj Khosla 's official legacy account, launched a day-long tribute to the iconic filmmaker on his birth centenary with the screening of Bambai Ka Babu (1960), starring Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen . Raima Sen introduces restored 1960 classic at the event celebrating director's birth centenary The event opened with a special introduction by actor Raima Sen, granddaughter of Suchitra Sen, who took the stage to speak about her grandmother's role in the noir classic and her cinematic legacy. She was joined by author Ambarish Roychoudhury and Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. The restored version of Bambai Ka Babu —meticulously revived in 4K by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) under the National Film Heritage Mission, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting—was showcased as part of the centenary celebration, aimed at bringing classic Hindi cinema back to the big screen. 'Raj Khosla was one of Hindi cinema's most versatile storytellers,' said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, adding, 'From suspense thrillers and noir to musicals and romantic dramas, his storytelling breadth remains unmatched. Today is about rediscovering that brilliance where it belongs—on the big screen.' The Film Heritage Foundation has curated a lineup of Khosla's most celebrated works for the day, offering cinephiles a rare chance to view them in restored formats. Fans are encouraged to follow the Film Heritage Foundation for screening schedules and updates as the tribute continues through the day. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
Scroll.in
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
What the removal of actress Suchitra Sen's name from a dormitory says about new Bangladesh dynamics
On the morning of May 21, workers at Government Edward College in Bangladesh's Pabna city unscrewed a plaque bearing the name Suchitra Sen – a daughter of the soil, a cinematic legend and a bridge between two nations. They replaced it with a sign declaring 'July 36 Student Dormitory'. Principal Mohammed Abdul Awal Miah told The Daily Star that the decision to rechristen the Suchitra Sen Mohila Hall was made in keeping with student demands and the 'spirit of the July uprising'. He was referring to the July 2024 protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after 15 years in power. The uprising lasted 36 days – all of July and five days of August. This was another example of the anti-India sentiment that has bubbled in Bangladesh as a result of New Delhi's support for Hasina's authoritarian regime and its perceived hostility towards the country's interim government. But for many of Pabna's residents, the renaming is not merely bureaucratic – it is a symbolic severing of a shared heritage, a small act of violence against collective memory. The action symbolised how nations weaponise history to forge monolithic identities, erasing messy, pluralistic truths that defy nationalist myth-making. She was and will always be an epitome of beauty. She is the diva and the ultimate example of eternal angel. Her smile, her stare and her attitude can still make anyone fall for her. Mrs Sen will always be there with us . Remembering Suchitra aunty on her death anniversary. — Prosenjit Chatterjee (@prosenjitbumba) January 17, 2019 The story of Suchitra Sen – born Roma Dasgupta in 1931 in Bhanga Bari village, Pabna – is a palimpsest of South Asia's fractured past. Her family fled to Kolkata during Partition. Today, her ancestral home in Pabna's Gopalpur Himsagor Lane, with crumbling walls and a statue, stands as a testament to institutional neglect. Sen embodied the contradictions of post-Partition South Asia: a refugee turned icon, a Hindu star in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Her journey from Pabna to Kolkata mirrors the trauma of displacement that shaped millions. Yet, her films – 60 in total, 30 with Uttam Kumar – became emotional lifelines for a divided people. In Saat Paake Bandha (1963), her character's anguish over societal hypocrisy resonated with audiences on both sides of the border. At the climax of the film, when she tears her husband's vest, it was not just fabric that split – it was the illusion of unity in a fractured subcontinent. The irony of erasure Principal Awal's claim that 'no educational institutions in Bangladesh are named after actors' rings hollow, given that the hall bore Sen's name for decades as a point of local pride. Noresh Chandra Modhu, secretary of the Suchitra Sen Smriti Sangrakkhan Parishad, told The Daily Star that the move reflects a broader trend of sidelining pluralistic history. 'Suchitra Sen was not a political symbol,' he said. 'She was our symbol.' Today, her ancestral home lies in disrepair. The contrast is stark: a government that invests in renaming halls but neglects heritage sites embodies what scholar Pierre Nora termed lieux de mémoire – spaces where collective memory clashes with institutional amnesia. This sort of cultural erasure is rarely accidental. It is a governance strategy. Since the July 2024 uprising, Bangladesh's interim government has been accused of pushing revisionist narratives. Even as it highlights the authoritarian tendencies of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, it is attempting to rewrite the history of the 1971 Liberation War in which her father played a significant role, encouraged by India and its army. The interim government seems to be hoping these performative acts will appease Islamist groups and divert attention from systemic failures – underfunded education, crumbling infrastructure. The Government Edward College in Pabna has removed the name of film actress Suchitra Sen from a residential hall, sparking widespread criticism. #Bangladesh — The Daily Star (@dailystarnews) May 21, 2025 By erasing Sen, the establishment is attempting to reshape collective memory to fit a homogenised, Muslim identity. As political theorist Benedict Anderson noted, nations are 'imagined communities'. But imagination is not passive. It is actively curated by power structures to align with ideological goals. Some elements are foregrounded, while others are obliterated. Cultural erasure, like censorship, is a confession of fear. A state that dismantles monuments to shared heritage fears the power of pluralism. For Pabna's residents, the loss is visceral. Local journalist ABM Fazlur Rahman told The Daily Star, 'The people of Pabna bear her name in their hearts even though it has been erased from an institution.' Voices such as these underscore a truth: cultural memory resides not in plaques but in the minds of people. Sen's legacy lives in the hum of 'Ei Raat Tomar Amar' from Harano Sur, in the faded posters in her ancestral home and in the quiet defiance of those who refuse to forget.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Uproar after Suchitra Sen's Pabna college drops her name from hostel
Kolkata: The film fraternity in Bengal has strongly reacted to the decision of Pabna's Govt Edward College to drop Suchitra Sen 's name from the newly installed nameplate of a residential hall. The legendary actress was born as Roma Dasgupta in Pabna on 6 April, 1931. The college was founded in 1898 by Gopal Chandra Lahiri. Initially, the college started with only 26 students. Gopal Chandra Lahiri served as the principal until 1906, during which the name was changed to Pabna College. In 1911, the college was renamed Edward College after the then Emperor of India, Edward VII. The college authorities recently renamed three residential halls, including the Suchitra Sen Student Hall for female students, which has now been changed to 'July 36 Student Hall'. Additionally, Sheikh Russel Student Hall was renamed 'Bijoy 24 Student Hall', and Begum Fazilatunnesa Hall was renamed 'Aysha Siddika (R) Student Hall'. According to a report in The Daily Star, Edward College principal Md Abdul Awal Miah has also inaugurated the newly installed nameplates. In that report, Miah also was quoted as saying: "The hall was previously named under pressure from political leaders and a neighbouring country's high commission. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Conheça o produto aprovado por profissionais para melhorar seu bem-estar geral AlwaysFit Undo There are no establishments within educational institutions in the country named after film actors or actresses. " Firdasul Hasan, president of Film Federation of India, described this name-change as an 'extremely sad' decision. "What message are we giving out to the next generation? I am not too surprised though. People might have political differences but it is a fact that the statue of the Father of their Nation was demolished. What else does one expect?" Hasan asked. According to him, it is wrong to pigeonhole Suchitra Sen as just another film actress. "India is represented globally by the films of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Pele is the brand ambassador of Brazil, while Maradona is for Argentina. Do we not have names in their honour in Brazil and Argentina because they are from the sports world?" Hasan added. "Legends such as Suchitra Sen, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen are a pride of our subcontinent. These luminaries are revered far beyond the realms of border politics. Each of them has roots in Bangladesh. The association of their names with institutions in their birthplace serves as a tribute to their land of origin. The decision to erase her name in this manner is an attempt to sever the connection from the roots. Nothing can justify such an irresponsible act," said Premendra Mazumder, vice president, Federation of Film Societies of India.
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘When Life Gives You Tangerines' made me realise I've become my father
It was a laid-back Sunday afternoon. My father was outside, dyeing his hair and cleaning the garden like always. Inside, my mum worked her magic in the kitchen, filling the house with the comforting aroma of her Bihari chicken curry. And right on cue, we would all gather around the TV for the weekly Doordarshan movie premiere, a tradition that only happened during Sunday lunch because schools were shut. That day, the film was Aandhi, a 1975 romantic drama starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen. I still remember the moment when JK, Kumar's character, silently drops his ex-wife Aarti, Sen's character, to the helicopter that takes her away, because that's when I noticed my father's eyes welling up. It wasn't the first time I saw him cry, the first was when my grandfather died. I was only three, and my only memory from that day is of my father, inconsolable and almost child-like in grief. Back then, I believed that crying was a sign of weakness. No one corrected me. By then, my parents had settled into their rhythm of parenting. They knew the drill, and there wasn't much left to explain. I figured things out on my own, picking up beliefs and stitching together ideologies by watching the people around me. And one of those beliefs was this: I would never become my father. He was not a bad or weak man, but I was afraid of inheriting the parts of him I didn't understand or like. Yet, cut to 2025, and there I was, watching When Life Gives You Tangerines at 2 am, tears streaming down with every episode. And in that quiet, emotional unraveling, it hit me: I had become my father. Despite all the resistance and promises I made to myself, I am him. But as we grow older, life softens that resistance. Now, I find myself repeating my father's gestures, using his sayings, and sometimes, even approaching problems with the same anxiousness or stubborn pride. It's not that I have given up on being our own person, it's that I have begun to understand where he is coming from, and realise his ways were shaped by fear, love, and hope, just like mine. When I started watching the show, I wasn't expecting a 'bittersweet' Korean series to feel so personal. The show is gentle, slow-paced, and simple, a story about family, memory, and the strange, often bittersweet symmetry between generations. But as I watched, something shifted in me. Scene after scene, character after character, I started seeing someone familiar reflected in me: My father. And then, unsettlingly, myself. As a child, and later as a teenager, I became hyper-aware of the traits that made his life complicated. His temper that flared over small things, his inability to articulate an apology when he was wrong, his habit of pushing through stress while ignoring his health, and his refusal to slow down. He carried the weight for everything, not silently, but out loud, in arguments, in sharp ripostes, in anxious silences. I told myself I would be different. I had to be. But I am no different. Similar to how Gem Yong in the show tries not to be her father. She, deep down, associated his quietness and self-sacrifice with emotional distance. Growing up, she saw Gwan Shik as someone who gave so much of himself but never really asked for anything. She didn't want to live a life where she constantly put others first and lost her own voice in the process. So she pushed against that part of herself, trying to be more independent, more vocal, maybe even a little rebellious, anything to avoid feeling stuck or unseen like she thought her father was. But, in trying not to be him, she still carried so much of him inside her. The strength, the loyalty, they were in her, too. As a teenager, I used to hate it when my father insisted we spend every summer holiday at my nani's place instead of going on a proper family vacation. His reason? 'You won't be able to finish your holiday homework if we go traveling.' It frustrated me to no end. I swore I'd never do that to my own kids one day. I imagined a future full of spontaneous trips and zero homework talk. But now, when I get the chance to mother my nephews, something surprising happens. In those small moments—reminding them to finish their work before playing, or saying 'maybe next time' to a fun plan—I hear my father in my own voice. I use the same reasoning, the same tone, and I catch myself mid-sentence. And in that pause, I realise exactly where it's coming from, from a place of care and quiet love. I spent a large part of my adolescence and early adulthood trying to distance myself from him, not emotionally, but behaviourally. I wanted to be calm, open to criticism, able to laugh at my flaws, unbothered by the messiness of life. I promised myself I'd never yell, I'd never put work before well-being, and most of all, I'd never be vulnerable but I became oversensitive with time. Adulthood has a way of humbling you. Slowly, quietly, it makes you look into mirrors you've been avoiding. When Life Gives You Tangerines became one such mirror. The show doesn't dramatise family tension; it whispers it. It shows how love can be stubborn and imperfect and how, without realising it, we become the very people we swore we'd never be. Somewhere in those scenes, the quiet resentment of an adult child, the misplaced affection of a well-meaning parent, I saw my own life panning out. I am my father.
