Suchitra Sen (Bengali pronunciation:[ʃuːtʃiːraːʃeːn] ; born Roma Dasgupta, widely known as the Mahanayika, was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.
Tapan Sinha was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema, directing films like Kabuliwala (1957), Louha-Kapat, Sagina Mahato (1970), Apanjan (1968), Kshudhita Pashan and children's film Safed Haathi (1978) and Aaj Ka Robinhood. Sinha started his career in 1946, as a sound engineer with New Theatres film production house in Kolkata, then in 1950 left for England where he worked at Pinewood Studios for next two years, before returning home to start his six decade long career in Indian cinema, making films in Bengali, Hindi and Oriya languages, straddling genres from social realism, family drama, labor rights, to children's fantasy films. He was one of the acclaimed filmmakers of Parallel Cinema movement of India.
Harano Sur is a 1957 Indian Bengali-language romantic drama film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar, with music by Hemant Kumar, and sung by Geeta Dutt. This is the first film that Uttam had produced along with Ajoy Kar. The film is regarded as one of the finest examples of Bengali cinema of this early period. The film is based on the 1942 American film Random Harvest. The film became the highest grossing Bengali film of 1957.
Kora Kagaz is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by Sanath Kothari and directed by Anil Ganguly. The film stars Vijay Anand, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K. Hangal, Achala Sachdev and Deven Verma. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji. The famous title song "Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz" was rendered by Kishore Kumar.
Sabar Uparey is a 1955 Indian Bengali-language crime thriller film produced by M.P Production Private Ltd and directed by Agradoot, based on A.J. Cronin's 1953 novel, Beyond This Place. It stars Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen in leading roles. Chhabi Biswas, Pahari Sanyal and Nitish Mukherjee also play important roles in the movie. The music was composed by Robin Chatterjee. The movie was remade in Hindi as Kala Pani in 1958.
Raja Sen is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of Subhasree Sen and Sreyoshri Sen.
Chhaya Devi was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades.
Ajoy Kar was an Indian film director and cinematographer. He directed 26 films between 1949 and 1983. His 1961 film Saptapadi was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. Ajoy Kar provided a whole new expression to Bengali cinema. His 1971 film Malyadan won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.
Uttar Falguni is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Uttam Kumar, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee in lead. At the 11th National Film Awards, the film was awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Music of the film composed by Robin Chatterjee. The film was remade by director Asit Sen himself in Hindi, as Mamta (1966) again with Suchitra Sen as the lead. The film was also remade in Tamil as Kaviya Thalaivi (1970), and in Malayalam as Pushpanjali (1972).
Ganadevata is a 1978 Bengali drama film directed by Tarun Majumdar, based on a novel by same name by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay. The film stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Ajitesh Bannerjee, Samit Bhanja, Rabi Ghosh and Anup Kumar in lead roles. The epic novel is set in the 1920s during the British Raj, about the breakdown of socio-economic structures, impact of industrialization and non-cooperation movement in rural Bengal. It had also won the writer Bandopadhyay, the 1966 Jnanpith Award.
Nilachaley Mahaprabhu was a 1957 Indian Bengali biographical film directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay, based on the life of 15th-century mystic Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who started his spiritual journey and Hindu reform movement, part of the Bhakti movement during his years at Nilachal, the shrine of Jagannath at Puri. It stars Asim Kumar in the title role with Dipti Roy, Sumitra Devi, Ahindra Choudhury, Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, Nripati Chattopadhyay and Chhabi Biswas in supporting roles.
Bipasha is a 1962 Indian Bengali-language drama film starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. and directed by Agradoot. The film is based on a novel titled Bipasha by Sri Tarashankar Bandyopadhay.The story fleetingly describes the horror of riots in West Pakistan during the time of Partition of India. Bipasa was described as a victim of that riot in the film. However, the film deviates from the original novel and avoids describing Bipasha as a gang rape victim by Pakistani Islamist rioters.
Rita Koiral was an Indian Bengali actress, especially known for her television and film roles. She appeared in several soap opera roles, often as villains and often opposite Monami Ghosh. Directors she worked with included Prabhat Roy, Agnidev Chatterjee and Aparna Sen. She also acted in jatra . Koiral was born in Kolkata, and was still living there at the time of her death. She obtained B.A and M.A. degrees in accountancy from Calcutta University. Later she joined Durdarshan Kendra Calcutta as its newsreader.
Ekti Raat is a 1956 Indian Bengali-language comedy film directed by Chitta Basu and produced by Harendranath Chattopadhyay based on, Bhimpalashree, a story of Bengali novelist Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay. Film starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen in lead role with Tulsi Chakraborty and Bhanu Banerjee. This film was released on 26 April 1956 in the banner of H.N.C. Productions. In the 1990s, a television series Manush, based on the same plot, aired. This film become successful at the box office.
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay was an Indian film and stage actor and poet. He is best known for his collaborations with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films, and his constant comparison with the Bengali cinema screen idol Uttam Kumar, his contemporary leading man of the 1960s and 1970s. Soumitra Chatterjee is also the first Indian film personality to be conferred with the Commandeur de l’ Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's highest award for artists. He is also the winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award which is India's highest award for cinema. In 2017 exactly thirty years after auteur Satyajit Ray was honoured with France's highest civilian award, the coveted Legion of Honor, thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, arguably, the most prominent face of Ray's films, also received the award.
Borunbabur Bondhu is a 2019 Indian Bengali language film directed by Anik Dutta for Surinder Films. The film based on a Bengali story Chhad written by Ramapada Chowdhury is the story of an old man, whose life faces upheaval after people come to know that a VVIP who was once his friend, is coming for a visit. The film stars Soumitra Chatterjee in the role of elderly man with supporting cast of Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, Paran Bandopadhyay, Ritwick Chakraborty, Arpita Chatterjee, Sreelekha Mitra, Kaushik Sen and Bidipta Chakraborty.
Grihapravesh is a Bengali drama film directed by Ajoy Kar. This movie was released on 12 Nov. 1954 in the banner of Naba Chitrabharati Ltd. The music direction was done by Mukul Roy. It stars Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Bhanu Banerjee, Tulsi Chakraborty, and Anil Chatterjee in the lead roles.
Saat Paake Bandha is an India and Bengali-language television soap opera that premiered on 5 July 2010, and aired on Bengali Zee Bangla. The show starred Oindrila Sen and Vikram Chatterjee in lead roles.
