How did Roma become
Suchitra Sen? She was encouraged by her husband Dibanath to step into films. The story goes that she was initially offered a singing assignment at a recording studio in Park Street. She was introduced as Roma Sen. But that assignment was shelved in favour of the female lead in a film to be directed by Sukumar Dasgupta, a noted film-maker of the time.
Dasgupta put the actress through a screen test. The film was ‘Saat Number Koyedi’. One of his assistants,
Nitish Roy, rechristened this new actress Suchitra. In 1952, she signed three more films. One was ‘Kajori’, directed by Niren Lahiri; then there was ‘Saare Chuattar’, directed by Nirmal Dey; and then ‘Bhagawan Sri Sri
Krishna Chaitanya’, directed by
Debaki Bose in which
Basanta Choudhury made his debut in the title role. Her hero in ‘Saat Number Koyedi’ was Samar Roy, while in ‘Saare Chuattar’ it was Uttam Kumar.
Suchitra Sen was born in Pabna, originally in the northern parts of undivided Bengal, and now in Bangladesh, on 6 April. The year of her birth is somewhat clouded because some sources trace it back to 1931 while others say the year was 1934. This is a part of the mystique that adds to the enigma called Suchitra Sen. She was the fifth among three brothers and five sisters. Her father’s name was
Karunamoy Dasgupta
, and her mother’s name was Indira. Her nickname was Krishna. She grew up in distant Pabna, miles away from Bolpur, in Birbhum district, presently in West Bengal.
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