Suchitra Sen was the first Indian actress to receive an award at an international film festival

Suchitra Sen was born in Pabna, in the present-day Pabna District of Bangladesh, on 6 April 1931. Her father Late Karunamoy Dasgupta was the headmaster of the local school, and her mother Indira Devi was a homemaker. She was their fifth child and third daughter. She received her formal education in Pabna.

Suchitra Sen married Dibanath Sen, son of wealthy Bengali industrialist Adinath Sen, in 1947 and had one daughter, Moon Moon Sen, who is a former actress. Her father-in-law Adinath Sen was supportive of her acting 

in films after her marriage. Her industrialist husband initially invested a lot in her career and gave her all possible support. Suchitra Sen made a successful entry into Bengali films in 1952, and then a less successful transition to the Bollywood film industry. According to persistent but unconfirmed reports in the Bengali press, her marriage was strained by her success in the film industry.

Suchitra Sen was the first Indian actress to receive an award at an international film festival when, at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival, she won the Silver Prize for Best Actress for Saat Paake Bandha. In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India. From 1979 on, she retreated from public life and shunned all forms of public contact; for this she is often compared to Greta Garbo. In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India, in order to stay out of the public eye.  In 2012, she was conferred the West Bengal Government's highest honor: Banga Bibhushan.  

Here are some less known facts about the late actor:

-Suchitra Sen was the first Bengali actress who bagged the award for Best Actor Female at an international film festival. It was for her role in Saat Paake Bandha at the 1963 Moscow Film Festival.

-Suchitra Sen received the award for Best Actor Female for her debut movie in Bollywood, Devdas.

-Suchitra Sen’s Aandhi was banned for 20 weeks after its release in the state of Gujarat. It was later telecast on a state-run national television channel, when the Janata Party came to power in 1977.

-Suchitra Sen was awarded the Banga Bibhushan, West Bengal government’s highest award, in 2012.

-Suchitra Sen led a very low profile public life after her retirement from films. She spent most of her time at the Ramakrishna Mission.

-Suchitra Sen’s pairing with Uttam Kumar was the biggest-hit jodi of Bengali film industry. They acted in about 30 films together.

-Suchitra Sen refused to work in Satyajit Ray‘s Chaudhurani because of date problem. Because of that, the Oscar winning director never made the film!

-Suchitra Sen played a double role of the courtesan Pannabai and her daughter Suparna, a lawyer, in Uttar Falguni.

-Suchitra Sen was born in Pabna District, now in Bangladesh.

-Suchitra Sen’s debut film Shesh Kothaay in Bengali was never released.

We express our deepest gratitude to the late actor for entertaining us with so many glorious performances. May her soul rest in peace.