'Suchitra Sen said no to Satyajit Ray'

more about the ethereal beauty, Suchitra Sen, who passed away yesterday in Kolkata

Suchitra Sen allegedly did not accept the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2005 because it required her to make a public appearance. Sen, 82, who had been ailing for a while, passed away yesterday in Kolkata.

 Suchitra Sen

The Bengali actress, who has also featured in several Hindi films, stopped stepping out in public since the late ’70s, and went on to the life of a recluse. Barring her family -- that includes daughter Moon Moon and granddaughters Raima and Riya -- only West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got to meet the Mahanayika -- as the CM described her -- when she was in hospital.
Says veteran Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, “We lost her the day she decided to be a recluse. She remained a mystery and the only memory we have of her is through her films. She had refused Satyajit Ray; she never worked with leading Bengali filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. I could never make a film with her -- she would just not fit in. She belonged to the old school of acting.”
Late auteur Satyajit Ray’s son Sandip Ray reminisces, “My father wanted to make the film Chaudhurani with her in the 1960s. She did not do the project and ultimately, the film was never made. I have seen her, but have not interacted with her. My memories of her are of the several Bengali films she did with Uttam Kumar.”
Sen made her Hindi film debut in 1955 as Paro in Bimal Roy’s Devdas, in which she starred with Dilip Kumar. The thespian reminisces, “I have a distinct memory of Suchitra as a demure lady and an actress who sprang to life the minute the camera was focused on her. She had a an inborn sense of timing and pace that made her responses in the more intense scenes of Devdas absolutely apt and remarkable.
We were on the same wavelength while doing our emotional scenes and like me, she, too, did her mental preparation seriously and diligently. She was rather quiet by nature but there were times when she surprised us with her sense of humour and enjoyed a good laugh. I would say she was among the simplest and nicest leading ladies I have worked with.”
Sen had been paired opposite Dev Anand in Bambai ka Babu (1960) and with Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra in Mamta (1966). Her 1975 Hindi film, Aandhi, starring Sanjeev Kumar and directed by Gulzar, sparked a controversy as it was believed to be based on the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

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When Suchitra tore off Soumitra Chatterjee's vest!

hether refusing filmmaker Raj Kapoor's offer of a movie or her glamorous off-screen lifestyle - she once playfully tore off actor Soumitra Chatterjee's vest at a party - Bengali screen icon Suchitra Sen, who died Friday, made heads turn with her moves and stunned her contemporaries

Suchitra Sen

Filmmaker Aparna Sen recalled how, at a party, Sen had playfully mimicked a scene from "Saat Paakhe Bandha" - the film that fetched her the Silver Prize for best actress at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival, the first international recognition for a Bengali actress.
Suchitra Sen: Things you may not know
"Asit Chowdhury had thrown a party after she won the award. Sharmila Tagore and me, we were very young then and we saw how she, very playfully, re-enacted the scene from the film where she tears (lead actor) Soumitra Chatterjee's vest...all in the middle of the starry gathering. We had never seen something like this."
Sen died Friday of cardiac arrest at a city nursing home here. Her refusal to act in a film by Raj Kapoor under the R.K. banner made headlines.
It is said that Sen was put off as Kapoor knelt down on the floor with a bouquet in his hand and made her the offer. "Why should a man bow down like this," she reportedly asked her close circle. Moreover, films were made to cast her in a role that would do justice to her established talent.
Lyricist Gulzar, who had directed Sen in "Aandhi", once said: "(Producer) J. Om Prakash had wanted to cast Suchitra with Sanjeev (Kapoor) in a film but I didn't like the story. I said you can't ask her to come all the way from Calcutta to Bombay for a detective film like that."
And then Gulzar made "Aandhi" with the two. Contrary to the teary-eyed protagonists she essayed on screen, off it she was the life of the party - till she became a recluse three decades ago. Her daughter and actress Moon Moon Sen reminisced in an interview about her party-hopping days. "Guests were dropping by and my parents were always late catching a flight. Those days my mother was very glamorous and dressed for the evenings in black lace and red feathers."
However, post her husband's death in 1970, she chose to be absent from the social scene and retired from the industry in 1978."She wanted fans to remember her youthful looks. And she did not want to portray mothers and aunts on screen," her biographr Gopal Krishna Roy said.
Late actor Dev Anand, with whom Sen had shared the screen in "Bambai Ka Babu" (1961), had attempted to get in touch with her during a Kolkata visit. However he was discouraged.
"I did try to meet her...but people discouraged me saying 'She doesn't meet anyone', and after a while I gave up," the actor had said in an interview.
Sen's other pre-occupations included spending time with granddaughters Raima and Riya-who have carried the legacy forward. The older of the two, Raima is often compared to her grandmother.
"Yeah! May be, because I look like Suchitra Sen (smiles). And hence, they expect me to catch up with her acting stature sometime in future," Raima has said in the past. "No, she does not in any way give inputs or interfere in our career. But yes, she has seen Rituparno Ghosh's `Nauka Dubi', where both of us acted (Raima and Riya) and told us- 'I am proud of both of you'."
Moon Moon maintains that she can't see the three Sen actresses "living up to the legend that she created".
Fans who usually longed for a glimpse of the actress, had once raised their voices against a local TV channel which was about to air some snaps of Sen while she was hospitalised in 2007. It was clear they respected her desire for privacy.

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Suchitra Sen not out of danger yet, on oxygen therapy

Described as 'critically ill', legendary Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, who is suffering from serious respiratory problems, remains on oxygen therapy, a medical bulletin said Tuesdaycardiac status remains stable. "She is conscious and slowly communicating. Her feeding continues through feeding tube. Although still critically ill, her condition has not deteriorated over last 24 hours," claimed the latest report released by the Belle Vue Clinic where she is kept in the Intensive Therapy Unit.

Suchitra Sen. File Pic

"Though her condition remains the same after removal of the endotracheal tube Monday, the actress is not out of danger yet," said Subrata Maitra, a doctor in the seven-member medical team treating the actress at the nursing home.
The ailing icon is responding to chest physiotherapy. Non-invasive ventilation support is not required at the moment.
"She might start eating normally (orally) today, we are discussing that option," Subir Mondal, another doctor in the seven-member medical team told IANS.
Sen's actress daughter Moon Moon, son-in-law and granddaughters - actresses Riya and Raima - are at the nursing home.
The 82-year-old initially suffered chest infection and was undergoing treatment for it at the nursing home since Dec 23. Her condition worsened Dec 28 night.
Following complications, Sen was put on non-invasive ventilation Jan 3.
Sen, who ruled Bengali cinema for decades, has been a recluse ever since she quit acting over three decades ago. Known for her power-packed performances in highly acclaimed Bengali films such as 'Deep Jwele Jaai' and 'Uttar Falguni' as well as Hindi movies 'Devdas', 'Bombai Ka Babu', 'Mamta' and 'Aandhi', she has been dubbed as the Greta Garbo of Bengali cinema.
She won the best actress award for 'Saat Paake Bandha' at the Moscow Film Festival in 1963.

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Suchitra Sen on oxygen support

 

Veteran actress Suchitra Sen is still in critical condition though conscious and is surviving on constant oxygen support through endotracheal tube.
A medical bulletin issued by Belle Vue Clinic, where she is admitted since December 23 following a respiratory tract infection, said the 82-year-old actress is on BIPAP therapy through an endotracheal tube after which her oxygen saturation level in blood and other ancillary blood reports are satisfactory.
Doctors attending her said after a sudden deterioration last evening, her medical condition has now stabilised and her heart rate and blood pressure are also stable.
Her low food intake has made her weak and the doctors have intensified her nutrition therapy.
The veteran actress has also been seen by Dr Dhiman Ganguli, Dr Pawan Agarwal and Dr Sunil Baran Roy. Besides senior physician Sukumar Mukherjee was also consulted by the medical board led by critical care specialist Dr Subrata Maitra.
The medical team stayed overnight at the hospital to monitor the health of their star patient. Suchitra Sen’s daughter Moon Moon Sen, a Bengali actress and mother to starlets Riya and Raima, has also been staying at the hospital for very long hours.
Security cover was increased at the hospital by Kolkata Police as fans are anxious to get a glimpse of the yesteryear star, who has not been seen in public for the last three
decades.
Suchitra Sen was the first Indian actress to win the best actress award internationally at the Moscow Film Festival.
She had starred in memorable Hindi films like ‘Devdas’, ‘Aandhi’ and ‘Saat Paake Bandha’, ‘Agnipariksha’, ‘Saptapadi’ and ‘Deep Jwele Jai’ in Bengali. a

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Suchitra Sen's health improves

Ailing yesteryear legendary actress Suchitra Sen's health has improved slightly with the help of physiotherapy, non-invasive ventilation and continuous oxygen therapy, doctors said today.
"The medical condition of Suchitra Sen continues to remain stable. Her oxygen saturation has stabilised to some extent with the help of physiotherapy, non-invasive ventilation and continuous oxygen therapy," a medical bulletin issued by the Belle Vue clinic, where Sen was admitted on December 23 following a respiratory tract infection, said.
It said that the 82-year-old's cardiac condition was also satisfactory.
Suchitra Sen who has kept herself away from the public eye for the last three decades starred in memorable Hindi and Bengali films like 'Devdas', 'Aandhi', 'Saat Paake Bandha', 'Agnipariksha', 'Saptopadi' and 'Deep Jele Jai'.

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Suchitra Sen not yet out of danger, to remain in ICU

Ailing actress Suchitra Sen is still not out of danger and would remain under observation in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, doctors attending on her said today.
The 82-year-old actress still needs non-invasive ventilation at irregular intervals for oxygen support and could not be be said to be out of danger yet, they said.
Stating that her condition continued to remain stable, a medical bulletin issued by super-speciality hospital Belle Vue Clinic said fluctuation of her oxygen saturation needed continuous monitoring.
"She has received physiotherapy. She is having light diet as prescribed. Because of continuous monitoring of her vital parameters which might need active emergency intervention, she will continue to be observed in ICU setting," it said.
The actress was admitted to the hospital on December 23 following a respiratory tract infection.
Sen who has kept herself away from the public eye for the last three decades has starred in memorable Hindi and Bengali films like 'Devdas', 'Aandhi', 'Saat Paake Bandha', 'Agnipariksha', 'Saptopadi' and 'Deep Jele Jai'.

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