Kazi Liakat Hossain :
Today is the birthday of legendary film personality prime and graceful woman of Bengali speaking people, Suchitra Sen. She was born on April 6, 1931 and died on January 17, 2014.
Many of us do not know actual birthplace of Suchitra Sen. She was born in Belkuchi upazila under Sirajganj in her maternal grandfather’s house. Her ancestral home was in Pabna town, where she lived and read up to Class-IX before migration to West Bengal, Kolkata.
It is our great pride that this colossus held from Pabna. The inhabitants of Dhaka can also be proud to know that Suchitra’s grandfather-in-law Dinanath Sen was son of old Dhaka’s Gendaria. A road has been established after his name Dinanath Sen Road at Gendaria, once it was a posh area. We remember, during 60s when we were school going students, we used to enjoy her popular films like Harano Sur, Shilpi, Shat Pake Bandha, Sagorika, Agnipariksha etc. All these movies were unparalleled; we saw these movies several times and drew a picture of her in our mind’s eye.
In our school going age, we used to put by coins in a pot to see the movies acted by Suchitra Sen. During golden days cinema halls buzzed with avid cine goers and movie going was a way of life because there was Suchitra, the heart throb beauty queen of Bengal, the lady with the tantalising gaze, her winsome features and her statuesque height, her gait and style of talking and she walked in grace. Most of all her boundless unparalleled talents were heightened by her personal charm.
Her time is gone forever and she retired to self-imposed seclusion from the public eye; lest her charming image be tainted by the ravages of age. Her first film was Sesh Kothai. It was never released. Next film was Shar-e Chuattur was released in 1952. It was box office hit and made Suchitra-Uttam as the most popular leading pair in Bengali cinema. Her next popular film was Agnipariksha (1954) which set in a new era of Bengali films with Suchitra Sen playing an important role.
Suchitra Sen entirely changed Bengali cinema as none could do; in the process adding standard to cinematic acting and special attraction to cine going. She was on a pedestal in a Bengali movie. A height nobody yet crossed, there was nobody of her kind and there is nobody her kind. Kanon Bala, an actress and also a renowned singer of her time and Sondhyarani both of them had served their time. Cinemagoers of her (Suchitra) time still muse over the mesmerism of her cine persona. With the name of Suchitra they drift in nostalgia. That is why cine goers flocked to cinema halls to quench their hearts with the enchantment of watching Suchitra appear in grace, gaze in the most winsome fashion, speak in a delectable style-melt the male lead with the most exquisite expression of love submitting to his arms with ardent love, comforting his head in her lap with assurance of love and crystal tear drops glistening in her lovely eyes. So movie theatres were packed with the viewers. They came from the cinema halls lost in the thoughts of Suchitra magic.
During her school going age she liked to travel. One of her uncle was justice of Kolkata High Court. She used to go to his residence off and on. Once she came across with Dibanath Babu (Dibanath Sen) near the residence of her justice uncle at a tender age she was given in marriage to Dibanath Sen in 1947 in Pabna. She was an ambidexter, she could recite poems, could sing well. She was also a good dancer and actress. In every year she received first prizes in school functions. Her nickname was Rama Dasgupta.
One of her classmates Sara Ahmed said, “Roma was very smart ultra modern and used to wear well dress always. In school functions, she played a key role.”
Former director of Science and Industries Research Parishad of Dhaka Dr Safura Nabi said, “Suchitra was adept in dancing, reciting, acting and singing.”
Another classmate of Suchitra, Dr Mina met her in Kolkata in 1986. In Kolkata’s new theatre many people of Pabna used to work, from them Roma used to get information of Pabna people known to her and those who were close to her.
In Pabna, there is a lane called Abdul Hamid Road near to it there is a Gobindo Public Library. Near this library Gayatri Goha (China) resides here, who was a classmate of Suchitra Sen, Roma used to see cinema with her friends when any new picture was released in Pabna. Gayatri said, “Roma used to come in our residents regularly and asked my mother Kakima I want to eat such and such things, my mother served her with a sweet smile.” Gayatri met Roma in 1996-97 that was the last meeting of her with Roma, a dream girl of Bengal.
It is also interesting to know that she (Suchitra) was also fond of Jatra. Once she told some journalists that Jatra is the most powerful mass media. She had feelings regarding Jatra. There is a tale that a few days before the death of Uttam Kumar, he joined in Janata opera in Kolkata at the contact of nine lakh rupees per night. She was at that time in seclusion. When she came to know this, she said, “Our Chhobi Biswas, Pahari Sannyal and Jahar Ganguly – they came to cinema from their first profession, Jatra.” But Uttam went to Jatra from cinema. With a laugh she said, “Whose end is good, all are best.”
Her father and mother’s name were Karunamoy Dasgupto and Bimola Debi. Her father-in-law was an entrepreneur Adinath Sen. Suchitra Sen will live as long as Bengali films and moviegoers live. She left behind her only daughter Moonmoon Sen and two granddaughters Riya Sen and Raima Sen. They are also film actresses. n
