Suchitra Sen

April 5, 1931 – January 16, 2014

Suchitra Sen was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was repeatedly paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. Often referred to as the Madhubala of Bengal, Roma Dasgupta, who was born in Pabna district on April 6 in the year 1931, made her Tollywood debut in 1952 with ‘Shesh Kothay’ which never saw the light of day. The following year, she filmed ‘Sharey Chuattor’ with none other than the heartthrob of Bengal at the time – Uttam Kumar, and her career took off. Her first official release, however, was Sukumar Dasgupta's Saat Number Kayedi (1953). More than anything else, audiences loved the chemistry of the two stars. Sen and Kumar went on to do several hit films together like ‘Harano Sur’ and ‘Saptapadi’ and were loved by film watchers so much that their names 'Uttam-Suchitra' are still taken together by Bengali film lovers. From 1979 on, she retreated from public life and shunned all forms of public contact; for this she is often compared to Greta Garbo. In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India, to stay out of the public eye.