In the space of a few seconds a range of a dozen emotions could flicker across a silent close-up of Suchitra Sen's face. She was one of the great silently emotive actresses of cinema history. One Indian film critic said of her. "She is the face that launched umpteen hits. She was a rage, the kind that only Marilyn Monroe succeeded to be in Hollywood." The same article (zeenext.com) comments on her popular impact. "A generation of girls grew up copying her mannerisms - from her hairstyle to the way she walked and talked. "

Suchitra Sen was Bengal cinemas most famous actress. She made only about a dozen Hindi Bollywood films the first being Bimpal Roy's, " Devdas "(1955) in which she immortalized the character of Parvati or 'Paro'. For that role Suchitra Sen won the Filmfare Best Actress award.

 

Her name is forever tied to that of fellow actor, Uttam Kumar with whom she acted in films for over 20 years. They were a hugely successful pairing in romantic melodramas and have been again compared to Hollywood cinema as the Tracy and Hepburn of Bengali cinema.

One final Hollywood reference has been pinned to Suchitra Sen as she has been called the 'Garbo' of Indian film. She has gone into a sort of seclusion since her retirement in 1978. She is a devotee of the Ramakrishna Mission and spends the majority of her energy in meditation and prayer.

 

Links:

upperstall.com profile of Suchitra Sen

calcuttaweb.com Bengali filmography of Sen films

3to6.com profile

zeenext.com profile