But the pain, anguish, despondency, loneliness, suffocating helplessness and inevitability of the ensuing tragedy which Dilip Kumar and Suchitra Sen conveyed on the screen through their portrayal in simple white Bengali attire engulfs and overwhelms the viewers even today. Sanajy Leela Bhansali, with his palatial havelis, opulent sets, fascinating choreography, mega dance sequences and star power of Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, created a visual feast in his Devdas which the audience lapped up. (Her three other Hindi films were: Champakali, Musafir and Sarhad.) Sen gave unforgettable performances in four Hindi films: Devdas, Bombay Ka Babu, Mamta and Aandhi, portraying totally different characters which would be a huge challenge for even the most seasoned actresses of India. Unlike other awardees, she even refused to come to Delhi to accept the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award! She lived in self imposed seclusion for 30 years and richly deserved the media title: the enigmatic Greta Garbo of India. She spent 25 years of her retired life in the service of the Thakur (RK Mission). Thanks to this decision, her film Nati Binodini with the first superstar of Hindi filmdom, Rajesh Khanna, was never completed. Most actors, even after their retirement, hanker for some spotlight and headlines but Suchitra Sen, after the failure of her film Pronoy Pasha in 1978 just called it quits and never staged a comeback. It may sound unbelievable but she even refused do a film for the inimitable Raj Kapoor gossip columns of that time suggested that she didn’t like the manner in which Raj beseeched her with flowers! In fact, she refused Manik Da’s Devi Chaudhurani, based on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel, because he wanted her to give bulk dates which she couldn’t Ray never made that film. But Suchitra Sen didn’t do a single film with these three legendary directors. Many Bengali heroines would have grabbed any opportunity to do a film with maestros like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. No wonder in West Bengal she was reverentially hailed as the Mahanayika! So many scenes of her films remain etched in the mind for weeks after one has seen them. However, the sheer brilliance of her acting, the range and the depth of emotions which she expressed through her characters left the audience mesmerised, sometimes speechless. But Suchitra Sen acted in only 61 Bengali and Hindi films.
Sri Devi is believed to have done 300 films in different languages. Generally, the volume of films done by any actor underlines her or his versatility in different genres and their long love affair with the audience. But the most romantic and saleable pair for decades was formed by Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar, who appeared together in over 30 films. When we talk about hit celluloid pairs of different eras, the names of Raj Kapoor-Nargis, Dharmendra-Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore and Shahrukh Khan-Kajol crop up.
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