The great Bengali actress Suchitra Sen was born with the name Roma Dasgupta on 6th April 1931 at Pabna which came under the Bengal Presidency of British India. Suchitra Sen was the granddaughter of the great poet Sree Rajonikant Sen. Married in the year 1947 at a tender age of 15 years, Sen’s acting dreams were backed proactively by her husband and father-in-law Adinath Sen.
The Bengali beauty made her debut with the film Shesh Kothaay in 1952 which unfortunately couldn’t make it to the screens. The tides turned drastically for the actress when the following year she was cast opposite Bengali star Uttam Kumar for the film Sharey Chuattor directed by Nirmal Dey.
This film turned out to be a massive hit at the box office and is still remembered for the launch of Uttam-Suchitra as a leading pair. These superstars soon became the icons of Bengali Cinema. They ruled the screen with their chemistry for more than two decades. In her total tally of 60 films, Sen starred with Uttam Kumar for 30 films.
In the year 1955, young Suchitra was nominated for the Best Actress Award for her first-ever Hindi film Devdas. Her on-screen romance with Uttam Kumar made her one of the Best Actresses in Bengali Cinema. Sen’s most loved and appreciated performances came in the year 1959 in the film Deep Jwele Jaai. Starred opposite Basanta Choudhury, the poetic compositions and the close-up scenes set the tone right for the success of the film. The film was later remade in Hindi as Khamoshi released in the year 1969 featuring Waheeda Rehman playing Suchitra Sen’s role.
Another film that is considered a highlight of Suchitra Sen’s career was Uttar Falguni from the year 1963. But what followed the same year became the biggest achievement of the flamboyant actress. Suchitra Sen won the Best Actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival for the movie Saath Paake Bandha. This made her the first Indian actress to receive an international film award.
The utter charm, sensuality and the magic of striking emotions made Suchitra Sen a personality that cannot be replaced at all.
Even after the tragic death of her husband in the year 1970, Sen continued with her performance on screen throughout the ’70s. One of her noticeable performances was in the film Aandhi released in the year 1974 inspired by the story of the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She also received a nomination at the Filmfare as the Best Actress for this film.
Suchitra Sen was also bestowed with the prestigious fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri by the Indian Government in 1972. However, the actress declined the Dadasaheb Phalke award for lifetime achievement in the year 2005. With over 50 Bengali films and 7 Hindi films, the actress said goodbye to the screens in the year 1978 and disappeared for good. On Jan 17, 2014, the film industry suffered the loss of one of its best actresses of all time, Suchitra Sen. An actress with a strong personality and undisputed chemistry with Uttam Kumar while portraying some beautiful melodies in the movies, will always be etched on the minds of Cinema lovers. You can now listen to all the classic Bengali songs and Hindi songs on Saregama Carvaan Bengali. It is a digital audio player with 5000+ inbuilt songs to enjoy with your family and friends. Saregama Carvaan comes in a wide range of variants which include Carvaan Hindi, Carvaan Punjabi, Carvaan Bengali, Carvaan Tamil and Carvaan Marathi.
Suchitra Sen, the beautiful and ostentatious actress had a great impact on the world of Cinema and on her 91st Birth anniversary, her performances remain untouched.