Veteran Bengali actor Swatilekha Sengupta died at a hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon after a long battle with kidney ailments, reports PTI. Her demise has left behind a vacuum in Bengali films and theatres, which will be difficult to fill.
She began her career in theatre in Allahabad in the early 1970s, acting in productions under the direction of AC Banerjee. She later moved to Kolkata and joined the theatre group Nandikar in 1978, where she worked under the direction of Rudraprasad Sengupta, whom she later married.
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Sengupta was the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and was one of the spearheads of theatre group Nandikar along with her husband.
Besides writing and acting in plays, Sengupta also worked in films including Satyajit Ray%u2019s %u2018Ghare Baire%u2019 in 1985, where she was seen alongside Victor Banerjee and Soumitra Chatterjee. This film was based upon Rabindranath Tagore%u2019s novel of the same name.
After 31 long years, she returned to the big screen with Soumitra Chatterjee %u2018Belaseshe%u2019.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences on her death and tweeted: %u201CSaddened at the passing of actor and theatre personality Swatilekha Sengupta. She graced the stage for decades and left her mark through her works. This is a sad day for Bengali theatre. My condolences to her family, colleagues, and admirers.%u201D
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Filmmaker Onir, who produced Sengupta’s 2016 critically-acclaimed film %u2018Chauranga%u2019, wrote, “Very sad to hear about #SwatilekhaSengupta. RIP. Was fortunate enough to work with her briefly as a producer for our film #Chauranga. Unfortunately, the desire to direct her will remain unfulfilled. Gone too soon. Will remain immortalised for her performance in #GhareBhaire.%u201D
