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APARNA SEN

A cut above the rest

Kavita, New Delhi
Celebrated actor-filmmaker Aparna Sen was 16 when she came into the limelight. Her defining moment was as model for New Zealand-born Magnum photographer Brian Brake on a visit to Calcutta ( now Kolkata) to shoot for his Monsoon series. The outcome was one of Brake's most well known photographs-the shot of an alluring girl with her face to the first drops of monsoon rain.
Aparna's haunting beauty and talent attracted many stalwarts in the film world. She made her film debut also at the age of 16 when she enacted the role of Mrinmoyee in the Samampti portion of "Teen Kanya" directed by brilliant filmmaker Satyajit Ray who was an old friend of her father. Ray was clearly taken in by her talent because he went on to give her leading roles in many of his films, including the short film "Pikoo".
Director Mrinal Sen too gave her central roles in many of his films including "Aakash Kusum" which was subsequently remade into the Hindi film "Manzil" that starred thespian Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee. Another of Mrinal Sen's works "Mahaprithibi" gave Apana a chance to play the challenging rule of a widow.
From then on till the end of the 1970s, she was a leading heroine in the Bengali film industry. Her on screen pairing with stellar actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Uttam Kumar made her a famous name. In the Hindi film "Imam Dharam" she was cast with Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar and Rekha.
Her crowning moment was in 2009 when she appeared with Sharmila Tagore and Rahul Bose in the Bengal film "Antaheen". The film got her four National Film Awards.
Aparna's directorial ventures too led to a string of awards-among them for "36 Chowringhee Lane", "Paromitar Ek Din" and "Mr and Mrs Iyer". Her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma won an acting award for "Mr and Mrs Iyer". Lately Aparna has made "The Japanese Wife" based on a short story by Bengali author Kunal Basu.
Aparna Sen's films are largely women-centric. Joining the others is her latest film "Goyner Baskho" that released in Kolkata on April 12, 2013. The film stars big names such as Moushumi Chatterjee, Konkona Sen Sharama. Srabanti and Sawsata Chatterjee.
"Goynar Baksho" (The Jewellery Box) marks a departure from Aparna's other films as it is a horror comedy film that focuses on three generations of women and their changing equations set against a box of jewels that are handed down the generations. The film is based on a novel "Goynar Baksho" and a short story "Rashmonir Sonadana" both written by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and published in Desh.
Aparna has a deep rooted con-
nection with Bengal. She was born in Calcutta to a Bengali family, originally from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Her father is veteran critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dagupta and her mother Supriya Dasgupta is the cousin of famous Bengali poet Jibanananda Das.
Aparna has successfully passed on the baton to her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma who is acknowledged as a fine actor in films such as "Mr and Mrs Iyer", "Page 3", "Omkara" and "Life in a ...Metro" and "Wake Up Sid".