The Reclusive Pole Star – Suchitra Sen

She came, she saw and she conquered. Suchitra Sen, the Mahanayika of Bengali cinema, just happened to act in Hindi cinema for a short period. It was her by chance affair with Hindi screen. But she keeps shining like a pole star, steady and loved by all the Hindi cine lovers. A reclusive pole star. Even with just handful of Hindi films in her kitty, her name became synonymous with all the other leading ladies of Hindi cinema. She had that quintessential grace and beauty which made the hearts go flutter. Though a good actress, she wasn’t able to completely become the part of the tinsel town. Her hermit-like isolation added to her charisma.
Born as Roma Dasgupta, on 6th April 1931, Suchitra Sen, is best known for her Bengali films with Uttam Kumar which became classics. Making her debut in 1952 with “Shesh Kothay” (which never released), Suchitra Sen went on to become the Mahanayika!!

A peek into some classic Hindi songs picturised on Suchitra Sen-

1. Devdas – Her entry in Hindi films. Set against the backdrop of rural Bengal and based on the novel by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Devdas was directed by Bimal Roy. Suchitra Sen, played the childhood friend and love interest of Dilip Kumar.

2. Musafir – The film marked the debut of Hrishikesh Mukherjee as a director. Suchitra Sen plays the role of a girl named Shakutala, who has eloped and married but wishes to meet her in laws.

3. Champakali – Suchitra Sen plays opposite Bharat Bhushan. Champakali had music directed by Hemant Kumar. It happens to be a tribal love story.

https://youtu.be/xlX12YK3M8I

4. Bambai Ka Babu – Suchitra Sen plays the lead role opposite Dev Anand. The film was a musical masterpiece with S D Burman as the music director.

5. Sarhad – Dev Anand becomes the only actor in Hindi films to star opposite this enchanting actress twice. Their second film together being Sarhad. Unlike himself Dev Anand plays a strict and tough leader of a tribe in the jungle. Mala, played by Suchitra Sen, is his love interest with Gulabi (Raagini) making a third angle in this love story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6bQsUvxYAI

6. Mamta – Suchitra Sen’s double role in Hindi cinema. She plays the mother-daughter duo. A remake of Bengali film “Uttar Falguni”, the films deals with middle class fears and conflicts. Suchitra Sen, here starred opposite Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra.

7. Aandhi – Playing opposite Sanjeev Kumar, this role happens to be her most celebrated one in Hindi films. The role is said to have been inspired by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The film created quite a storm resulting in a ban on its release. But later on Aandhi won Filmfare critics award for the Best film. Aandhi is Suchitra Sen’s last Hindi film, as she retired from films altogether in 1978. It got her nominated for the Filmfare Best actress award.

Her oval face and chiselled bone structure were striking and even though she didn’t quite fit the traditional mould of a Bengali beauty, she was graceful and all loveliness. Rechristened to Suchitra Sen, between her debut in 1953 to an early retirement in 1978, she became a history. Making a delightful and most appealing onscreen pair with Uttam Kumar in Bengali films, she was selective when it came to Hindi films, with film makers like Raj Kapoor trying to include her in their films and failing. A large number of the characters she plays are that of a strong, independent-minded women whose existence isn’t defined by the society. She was undoubtedly the reigning queen of Bengali cinema. With varying degrees of success in the Hindi films, Suchitra Sen had bewitched generations of film goers, accentuated by her intense and dreamy eyes, subtle gestures, she remains an enigma!