Creating a mystique around oneself is
difficult, and making it permanent is almost impossible. Very few actresses
across the world have managed to keep the craze about their stardom alive even
three decades after her last screen appearance.
Undoubtedly, Suchitra Sen mastered the art
to perfection. She knew how to create that mystery around herself and how to
carry it along with her long after she stepped out of the tinsel world.
Stardom
is infectious but she managed to forego everything and lead the life of a
recluse. But somehow the craze, the mystery and the enigma will never fade.
Even today, we talk about her, her films and her unique sense of style.
When
I was young, my friends and I used to watch Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen's
films at the theatres. Later when I entered the film industry, I learnt more
about her. I may not have had the opportunity to work with her, but I know she
inspired actresses from every generation.
I
have often saw her in film studios, sometimes we used to work at the same
studio though we never worked in the same film. I saw a person holding an
umbrella when she walked out of the make-up room. And another one holding it
when she entered the floor.
She had her individual style, quite
inimitable, and she knew how to maintain it.
Suchitra
Sen might have left the film industry and retreated into a shell, but I have
heard she keeps contact with her relatives, family and good friends. She even
manages to visit the Ramkrishna Mission of which she is a keen disciple and
leads a spiritual life.
She
put an iron curtain between her life before the camera and after - effortlessly
stepping away from one role as it were and entering into the other.
To
the Bengali audience Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen represented an on-screen pair
whom none can perhaps ever replace. It is difficult to find another parallel in
any film industry of the country. They have become an inseparable part of the
history of Bengali cinema.
As
told by Madhabi Mukherjee to Hindustan Times