PABNA, Jan 17: – Today is the 11th death anniversary of legendary Bengali film actress Suchitra Sen. On this occasion, Suchitra Sen Smrity Sangrakhhan Parishad observed the day at the premises of Suchitra Sen Sriti Sangraha Sala at 11 am on Friday.
Dr. Naresh Madhu secretary of Suchitra Sen Smriti Sangrakkhon Parishad moderated the program while Dr. Ramdulal Bhoumic, president of the Parishad, chaired the memorial meeting. Immediate past president of Paba press club AB M Fazlur Rahman, vice president of Suchitra Sen Samrity Sangrakhon Parisad Faridul Islam Khokon, Organizing Secretary Sarowar Moshed Ullash, Krishibid Zfar Sadik, Mahabub Alam Liton, Journalists S M Alm. Biplob Bhoumik and others also attended to observe the day.
Press Club president Akhtaruzzaan Akhter Said Suchitra Sen symbolized the new ‘Bhadramahila’ of the 1950s, a woman who was modern and had principles. This woman had a career but could put it on the back burner, a woman who could speak English and belong in the city. But more importantly, she was a stylish and suave woman the middle-class Bengali could openly desire.
A B M Fazlur Rahman said Suhitra Sen is the first Bengali actress to be awarded at an international film festival—the Moscow Film Festival in 1963—as best actress for her role in ‘Saat Paake Badha’. The Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri in 1972. Notably, she refused the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’, the highest cinematic award in India, in 2005 to stay out of the public eye.
Among others, the Pabna district administration paid due respect to Suchitra Sen on the day. M D. Zahanjgir Alma, ADM, and others attended the event and paid respect to her sculpture, and he spoke to make it presentable to the visitors.
Suchitra Sen was Roma Dasgupta, born in 1931 in Pabna. She was the fifth of three brothers and five sisters. She got married early to Dibanath Sen, a rich man from a joint family who recognized her artistic potential and wanted her to join the film fraternity. Unlike most other actresses at the time, she made her debut in cinema after getting married and becoming a mother.
She did have to struggle, though. She had to let go of the Bangladeshi twang in her dialect to adapt to the Kolkata way of speaking; she had to adapt to the mannerisms of the elite city woman and get used to a world that was alien to her. But she made this entire look effortless.
In the 1970s, her film ‘Pronoy Pasha’ (1978) flopped. After that, Sen disappeared from the public gaze and did not emerge even to receive a ‘Dadasaheb Phalke award’, refusing India’s biggest film award
The legend was conferred on West Bengal government`s highest award ‘Banga Bibhushan’ for her lifetime contribution to Bengali cinema in 2012.
Suchitra also acted in several popular Hindi films. She was widely acclaimed for her first Hindi film, Devdas, in 1955.
She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress award in 1963 for the film Mamta and again in 1976 for the film Aandhi.
Suchitra Sen passed away in Kolkata of a heart attack early in the morning on 17 January 2014 at the age of 82. The demise of the legend has made a void in Indian cinema, but she will remain in the hearts of cine-lovers forever.
Suchitra was born on April 6, 1931, in Pabna. She died of heart failure on January 17, 2014. Her ancestral home in Pabna had been occupied for three decades before it was freed following weeks of popular demand since her death.
