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Sumitra Devi was a reigning actress of Bengali Cinema during the forties and fifties. Movies like 'Sandhi' (1944), 'Samar' (1950), 'Dasyu Mohan' (1955), 'Saheb Bibi Golam' (1956), 'Kinu Gowalar Gali' (1964) carry her genius. The actress loved to play rebellious characters by breaking stereotypes of portraying strong women on-screen. Unlike other mainstream actresses who have been sidelined due to choice of roles in Indian cinema, Sumitra Devi thrived on powerful roles that will continue to reverberate for years to come in the field of drama. However, Sumitra was celebrated more for her charisma than her flair as an actor. Sumitra Devi was invited to the Asian Film Festival in China as a delegate from India in the late fifties. Sumitra Devi has worked in over sixty movies in both Hindi and Bengali movies.
In This Pic : Sumitra Devi, goldenframes
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Sumitra Devi was born as Nilima Chattopadhyay in a Brahmin orthodox family in Suri, Birbhum, West Bengal. The actress's father, Murali Chattopadhyay, was an advocate who worked in one of the top office jobs in pre-independent India. Along with brother Ranajit Chattopadhyay and the remaining family members, she moved to Kolkata after their house and estate in Muzaffarpur was demolished due to a significant earthquake.
In This Pic : Sumitra Devi, goldenframes
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Sumitra was in her teens when she was immensely influenced by the beauty and stature of the veteran actresses like Kanan Devi, Leela Desai, Chandrabati, Menaka Devi, Jamuna Barua, Sandhyarani and others. As her father was conservative, she decided to apply for an acting job secretly with the help of her younger brother Ranajit who agreed to cooperate with her. She sent an application along with her photograph to the office of New Theatres. Her letter was answered and the young Sumitra was summoned for an interview and look test. In the office of New Theatres, Sumitra was asked to read an article thoroughly. Delighted by her performance, she was chosen to play one of the leading roles in the New Theatres' movie 'Meri Bahen' and adopted her screen name, Sumitra Devi.
In This Pic : Sumitra Devi, goldenframes
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'Meri Bahen' (1944) was supposed to be the debut movie of Sumitra Devi, but Apurba Mitra's Bengali movie 'Sandhi' (1944) was her debut movie. 'Meri Bahen' was stalled midway by Debaki Kumar Bose, who offered her to act in his nephew Apurba Mitra's 'Sandhi'. After the movie's release, Sumitra was highly appreciated for her effortless acting skill and credited as an actress having an 'outstanding luminous screen presence.' The movie won her the Bengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Actress Award in 1945.
In This Pic : Sumitra Devi, goldenframes
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Sumitra appeared in Soumyen Mukhopadhyay's Hindi movie 'Wasiyatnama' (1945), an adaptation of veteran Bengali author Bamkim Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous novel 'Krishnakanter Will'. In this movie, she played the character of a beautiful widow who seduces the male protagonist, elopes with him and ultimately gets killed. She earned a rave review for her enticing as well as doleful performance in the movie.
In This Pic : Sumitra Devi, goldenframes
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