April 6, 1931.
Could anyone have imagined that this ordinary girl born in Pabna district of Bangladesh would one day leave behind an immortal legacy across both Bengals and the entire world?
I was speaking of Suchitra Sen. I cannot say exactly how many epithets one must add to a name to become a Suchitra Sen. But I can say with certainty that one can only become a Suchitra Sen if there is a vast difference from ordinary people in dreams, thoughts, actions, hard work, and endeavor. The thought that such a superhuman was born on the soil of Bangladesh makes any Bengali want to leap with joy and pride.
As much as she revealed herself through different characters on screen, she kept her personal life equally hidden until her last breath. For someone like Suchitra Sen, this was an extraordinarily difficult task! Even years after her death, so much about her remains unknown to us. Just as she herself revealed nothing, her family, relatives, and daughter Moonmoon all made her wish for privacy even easier by keeping their own mouths sealed about her. Despite the efforts of hundreds of admirers, she only let the world know what she wanted them to know about herself—beyond that, no one had the power to discover anything more.
At a certain point, when that great actress retreated into seclusion, erected walls between herself and cinema and its artisans, she never returned, never showed herself again. Why she kept herself hidden—film lovers, critics, admirers, and analysts still have various theories and explanations circulating today. But Suchitra never clarified the real reason anywhere. Only one other actress in the world had done something similar—Hollywood's Greta Garbo. Suchitra Sen even graciously declined the cinema world's highest honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, because it required appearing in person to receive it! She showed this world that peace, and only peace, is life's final word. The companionship of millions of people only brings unrest to this life. Perhaps those who dwell on mountain peaks become desperate to smell the earth's fragrance in their search for peace. True liberation lies in solitude; solitude itself is true peace.
Suchitra's pet name was Krishna; when she enrolled in school, she was given the name Rama. As a child, she had a speech impediment. While in class nine, one day amid various conversations, she told her friends, "You'll see, I will leave behind immortal achievements in this world." And the rest is history. Though what she meant and understood by "immortal achievements" at that age is unclear to anyone, we can assume that such words emerged from her intuition that day. Someone destined to become so great would certainly not speak like you or me—that's only natural.
During Partition in 1947, she married Dibanath Sen. Believing that a good wife would reform his wayward son, Adinath Sen quickly arranged his son's marriage. But when that proved impossible, he even decided to keep his daughter-in-law close to discipline his son while casting the son aside.
By fate's cruel irony, when Dibanath failed at every business venture, Suchitra had to step forward to steer the household. She had never wanted to be an actress, yet what games destiny plays! She had been brought to an audio studio on Park Street to audition as a playback singer. Later, even when the famous director Bimal Roy (who was related to Suchitra's in-laws) offered her acting roles, she declined. But with both her husband and father-in-law's consent, she eventually began acting without much deliberation. This is how the journey toward greatness begins—suddenly!
The period when Suchitra stood before cameras was not favorable. Cinema was not a respectable profession for everyone then. Entering films meant descending from the level of respectability. The journey from Rama Sen to creating herself as Suchitra Sen was not an easy one. "Having a good face is enough to become a heroine"—it wasn't like that at all. Much effort was required. After acting in 'Baro Gharer Bou,' Suchitra began to be known as 'Mrs. Sen.'
Who discovered Suchitra Sen? To this question, Suchitra herself once reportedly said, "I found cinema through Bimal Roy, and Dibanath Sen encouraged me. So it must be one of these two!"
It's said that to see Vishnupriya in 'Bhagavan Sri Krishna Chaitanya,' audiences would remove their shoes before entering the cinema hall! This began the amazing story of an ordinary housewife becoming a 'star.' Suchitra's nine-year journey from 'Ramala' in 'Saare Chuattor' to 'Rina Brown' in 'Saptapadi' was one of dedication. In a male-dominated film world, Suchitra Sen was the first to prove that a woman could become not just a heroine but an irresistible 'star,' creating her own identity beyond the hero. She was Bengal's first feminist heroine of her time. Bengali cinema never honored any other heroine by calling her 'Mrs. Sen.'
Storms began brewing in Suchitra's married life. It was heard that her husband had become an alcoholic, wandering here and there, spreading all sorts of nonsense about his wife. Though no divorce occurred, the two began living separately after a point. However, when her husband died in America, she arranged to bring back his body and performed the last rites herself. Great people never forget the past.
As a single mother, she raised Moonmoon. Apart from shooting requirements, her entire time was devoted to her daughter. During the period of turmoil with her husband, she sent her daughter to a boarding school in Darjeeling to keep her safe.
Her devotion to Sri Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi brought unique meaning to her life. Swami Abhayananada (Bharat Maharaj) advised her to renounce everything. It's heard that she voluntarily retired in search of that spiritual nectar. Throughout ages, many great souls at fame's peak have left everything behind, choosing the life of ordinary people and becoming reclusive in their search for peace.
Suchitra never wanted to write her autobiography. She had ordained that no one should know anything about her through any other medium.
Suchitra rarely spoke to anyone about her marital troubles. Only with Kanan Devi (another famous Indian actress) would she discuss such matters. Here too she was unique, extraordinary. Though she herself had a brilliant acting career, she never wanted to see her daughter Moonmoon in films. After Moonmoon entered cinema of her own accord, Suchitra stopped speaking to her daughter for a year.
Though she entered cinema at her husband's encouragement, cinema itself separated her from husband and home. Initially, Suchitra had walked cinema's path to meet household expenses; she consciously never let anyone know about the fire she walked through to transform from Rama to Suchitra. Just as she herself never spoke more than necessary, no one dared speak excessively in her presence—such was Suchitra's commanding personality. Yet when this same person gathered with her four sisters and two brothers, laughter would flow like a fountain, as if she became that childhood 'Krishna' again. By not appearing before everyone in person, she avoided much unnecessary trouble. Bengalis are such a people—embrace them and they'll seize the opportunity to stab you in the back. One must see a Suchitra on screen, from afar; wanting to get close to such a person is sheer mental immaturity.
When her elder sister asked why she retreated from everything, Mrs. Sen replied, "I have nothing left to gain." Most people run like mad chasing happiness their entire lives because they cannot understand when the gaining is over. One must stop before it all runs out.
The Uttam-Suchitra pair is still considered the most magical duo. Their chemistry in the scene with the song 'Ei path jodi na shesh hoy...' created such a storm of pure love in Bengali hearts that it remains doubtful whether any other pair will ever achieve the same. According to Montu Bose, owner of the Bashushri cinema hall of that era, "People watched the same film two-three times a day—I witnessed this scene fifty years ago. Oh my, advance ticket booking started with the Uttam-Suchitra pair!" Times have become much more modern now, yet we have fallen far behind that era.
Uttam himself had confessed that without Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar would never have been born.
When Uttam's film career was going through a terrible phase, with one movie after another flopping, a journalist asked him bluntly, "The producers once called you Flopmaster General! Why didn't you protest? Your career was being ruined!" Uttam replied with complete candor, "It was being ruined! Then Rama came and saved me. Before her, when I had to speak romantic dialogues with other actresses, I felt no warmth in my heart! When I acted with an actress named Suchitra Sen in 'Saare Chuattor,' I realized—my heroine had arrived!" And that's why, after a certain time, Uttam Kumar himself acknowledged that their pairing wasn't called Uttam-Suchitra, but rather Suchitra-Uttam! That warmth was everything. People must wait for a long time for just that much warmth. Those who never find it in their lives find nothing at all. Alas, most people in this world die after living out their days without any such warmth!
Quite some time after Uttam Kumar's death, Tarun Kumar planned to make a film with Suchitra Sen. When he approached her with the proposal, after listening to everything, Suchitra said, "Old man, can you bring back Utu (Uttam) from wherever he's gone? If you can, write the screenplay that way. I'll work." How many men and women develop such sweet chemistry even after spending an entire lifetime side by side?!
When people see a married beautiful woman behaving mysteriously, not living the conventional life like ten other married women but doing something different, society naturally doesn't look upon her favorably—they attach whatever label comes to mind to her name. And if she happens to be Suchitra Sen, a daughter-in-law from a conservative, respectable family, who started her career after marriage and elevated herself from Rama to the heights of Suchitra, stunning thousands of people—naturally there would be countless rumors and criticisms about her. Personal attacks disguised as criticism were no less common in that era than in ours. This inheritance runs in Bengali blood. Going after others seems to be the weakest legacy of our thinking! Moving forward oneself requires strength—where does the average Bengali find such strength!
Before becoming the Suchitra of the long stardom, the glittering silver screen, and that dazzling beautiful face, this very Suchitra had to endure unimaginable pain. In childhood, this same Suchitra would become the object of her siblings' mockery due to her speech problems. This Suchitra, who would later astound everyone with her acting, once didn't want to enter films at all. This same Mrs. Sen, who turned down Satyajit Ray's offer to work in 'Debi Choudhurani' because she had no dates available, spent hours alone in makeup rooms during her struggling days in cinema, with no one even bothering to check on her. Every great person must spend some time being overlooked.
I'll end with an astonishing piece of information shared by Moon Moon Sen in an interview. When asked how much Suchitra Sen's popularity had waned due to her long absence from the screen, Moon Moon replied, "One devotee of my mother, standing outside the walled compound of the house where Ma lived in Calcutta, touched a leaf from a tree with great difficulty and said, 'Now I can go back to my country and tell everyone—I've touched a leaf from the tree of the house where Suchitra Sen lives!'" Close your eyes and think about these words! With wonder and reverence, it will seem as if an intense shiver might bring forth a fountain of tears! Yes, she was a Bengali of such towering stature!