Sumitra Devi (actress)

rdf:langString Sumitra Devi (actress)

rdf:langString Sumitra Devi

rdf:langString Sumitra Devi

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rdf:langString Deshbandhu Girls' High School, Kolkata

rdf:langString - Haridas Bhattacharya during on an interview session with Ekaal

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rdf:langString Nilima Chattopadhyay

rdf:langString Sumitra Devi in 1956

rdf:langString Indian

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rdf:langString Mamta

rdf:langString Andhare Alo

rdf:langString Swami

rdf:langString Jagte Raho

rdf:langString Meri Bahen

rdf:langString Pather Dabi

rdf:langString Saheb Bibi Golam

rdf:langString Sandhi

rdf:langString Abhijog

rdf:langString Devi Chowdhurani

rdf:langString Joutuk

rdf:langString Kinu Gowalar Gali

rdf:langString Actress

rdf:langString "I was certain that, with those transfixing attributes, she would be the best choice for the role of Bijali. I didn’t have to direct her at all. She herself figured it out how to render Bijali, how to interpret her journey from an enticing, playful coquette to an ardent devotee of love."

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rdf:langString Debi Mukherjee

rdf:langString Sumitra Devi was an Indian actress who is recognised for her work in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema during the 1940s and 1950s. She is most remembered for her role in the 1952 Hindi film Mamta directed by Dada Gunjal. She was the recipient of BFJA Award for Best Actress for two times. She was one of the exquisite beauties of her time and has been regarded as the most beautiful woman of her time by veterans such as Pradeep Kumar and Uttam Kumar. In 1943 she was summoned for an interview and look test in the office of New Theatres and was finally cast opposite K. L. Saigal in Hemchander Chander’s Meri Bahen (1944). During the making of this film she was offered to play the lead in Apurba Mitra’s Bengali film Sandhi (1944) which happened to be her debut film. The film achieved enormous success and won her the BFJA Award for Best Actress in 1945. In the late 1940s she established herself as a leading actress of Bollywood with roles in films such as Vasiyatnama (1945), Bhai Dooj (1947), Oonch Neech (1948) and Vijay Yatra (1948). She was adulated for her role as a single mother in Gunjal's Mamta (1952). Filmzack wrote, "She manipulated all her magnificent characteristics to vivify her role; her calmness, her softness, pain and pang and all were infused into one." She was further acclaimed for her role in films such as Deewana (1952), Ghungroo (1952), Mayurpankh (1954), Chor Bazaar (1954) and Jagte Raho (1956). She sustained her career in Bengali cinema also with films such as Abhijog (1947), Pather Dabi (1947), Pratibad (1948), Joyjatra (1948), Swami (1949), Devi Chowdhurani (1949), Samar (1950), Dasyu Mohan (1955). She has been idolized for her role as the beautiful alcoholic wife of a landlord in Kartik Chattopadhyay's cult classic Saheb Bibi Golam (1956) which is an adaptation of Bimal Mitra's classic novel of the same name. Her portrayal of Bijali, a nautch girl with a bereaved heart in Haridas Bhattacharya’s National Award winning Bengali film Aandhare Alo (1957) acquired an overwhelmed critical response. She also garnered acclamation for her roles in Bengali films such as Ekdin Ratre (1956), Nilachaley Mahaprabhu (1957), Joutuk (1958) and Kinu Gowalar Gali (1964). In the late fifties, she was invited to the Asian Film Festival in China as a delegate from India.

rdf:langString Nilima Chattopadhyay