RIP Suchitra Sen (the Greta Garbo of Bollywood)

[Recursion]

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/remembering-suchitra-sen-bengali-cinemas-most-celebrated-actress/

Indeed, it’s interesting to observe how Suchitra Sen gradually shrugged off the cloak of victimhood from the shoulders of Bengali leading ladies. If she was the woman trapped in a bad marriage in 1963?s Asit Sen classic Uttar Fhalguni (which was later made into ‘Mamta’), her character was empowered enough to walk out of it. In 1961?s Shaptapadi, which is arguably the most celebrated romance of Bengali cinema, Suchitra Sen’s Rina Brown is a complex, flawed protagonist who fights her destiny to be with the man she loves and takes to alcohol after losing him. She is an equal to Uttam Kumar in the film, never a passive object of his affection. In fact, if there was any actor who matched Uttam Kumar in terms of charisma and popularity, it was Suchitra Sen. Uttam-Suchitra starrers ensured one thing, the script will have a substantial if not equal role for the female protagonist.

Such was the impact of Uttam-Suchitra pairing that whenever both of them took film assignments opposite other actors, it was seen a brief holiday by millions of fawning fans. A thing not to be taken seriously. Pages of popular Bengali film magazines like ‘Ulto Roth’ would talk about the pros and cons of the new pairing and dismiss them. Yet, we saw some of Suchitra Sen’s best performances in films where she was paired opposite other actors.

In 1963?s ‘Saat Paake Badha’ (which was later remade in ‘Kora Kagaz’ by Vijay Anand), Suchitra Sen’s marriage to a young idealistic professor (Soumitra Chatterjee) is destroyed by the interference of her overbearing mother (Chaya Devi). Caught between the two important people in her life, Suchitra Sen is confused, hurt and exquisitely neurotic. It was a performance that won her the best actress award at the Moscow Film Festival, making her the first Indian actress to have won an international award.

...

She chose her Bollywood assignment wisely, opting for films with experimental directors like Bimal Roy (‘Devdas’) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee (‘Musafir’), instead of big-budget blockbusters. “Had she wanted, Suchitra Sen would have had a long career in Bollywood too. But Bollywood didn’t have much to offer to her. She was the reigning queen of Bengali cinema and roles were written for her there,” said Dharmendra, who worked with her in ‘Mamta’, in an earlier interview.

Unfortunately, her oeuvre probably isn't the best place to start if you don't know Indian film conventions (try more recent stuff like the SRK/PZ love stories to get your feet wet), but her acting was amazing.

[shenmue]

1. Rest in peace