Suchitra and Uttam Kumar were never in love: Sabitri Chatterjee
Zinia Sen| TNN | Aug 15, 2016, 01.00 AM IST
Joining Uttam Kumar's group
After my family came here, said Sabitri Chatterjee, Bhanu Bandopadhyay, spotted me at Rashbehari one day and asked me to join the theatre group, Uttar Sarathi. Back then, Uttam Kumar was known as Arun Kumar. One day, he came to watch my rehearsals for a play at Kalika theatre. On getting to know about this, I ran to see him and rammed into a piece of furniture, injuring my right foot. I was bleeding but couldn't contain my excitement. For me, seeing him was a great achievement. Once I was done, Bhanu Bandopadhyay told me, 'Uttam has a group called Krishti O Srishti and he wants you to be part of their production.' I asked him to take permission from my father.
What next?
Uttamda came to the house one day without prior intimation. We were in a pitiable state, the pillows were torn and there was no place to sit. I was really embarrassed. My father said he would give permission only if I was escorted to and from the rehearsals. While Uttamda was about to leave, my father asked him to pay an advance; I was shocked! My father was asking money from Uttam Kumar! I felt like dying... Uttamda took out a `50 note from his pocket and handed it to my father. After he left, I asked him why he did it. My father said, 'Am I asking for money without a reason? Haven't I raised all my daughters single-handedly? Today, I have no other option'. I was very sad. At that time, we hardly had the money to eat.
You must have been happy to join Uttam Kumar's group...
The rehearsals began. Uttamda would take me to the rehearsals and bring me home. We used to take the tram... My second film, Subhadra under Sunanda Debi productions happened in a few years. By then, we had got a house in Tollygunge through an exchange. Sunanda Debi came to my house and said how everyone was against my casting as a tragic heroine. Though she was impressed with my acting in Pasher Bari, she said everyone was doubtful about my new role. I fell on her feet and asked her to give me the role. Around the same time, I tasted success with the play, Notun Yahudi. Initially, people raised a brow and said who this famished young girl was. But my acting and Bangal accent were lauded by all. Sisir Bhaduri, who had come to watch the play, said, 'Ekta Bangal meye toder mukhe juto mere diye chole gelo!' Sunanda Debi took me for two of her films — Subhadra and Kajari. On the day of the mahurat, all the great directors of Bengal had come to attend it. My legs were shaking in fear. I was given two dialogues and I prayed to all the gods. After I delivered the lines, the guests kept asking: 'Ei meyeti ke?'. The films started. Initially, I would go to the sets on being asked. One day, Sunanda Debi asked me, 'Why do you do that? You must watch other actors perform'. I follow it till today. Every actor has a lot to offer. The young actresses today do not do that.
Aren't you particularly angry about the series, Mahanayak?
I knew about the series because it's directed by Bidipta's (Chakraborty) husband (Birsa Dasgupta). I've met him before — he is a young boy who has made Obhishopto Nighty. Bidipta told me one day, 'Sabudi, do you know they have got a good cast, but there isn't anyone who can play your character'. I asked, 'Why do you need another Sabitri Chatterjee?' That's when I got to know about Mahanayak and that Prosenjit was about to play Uttam Kumar. A few days after that, she told me they have found a girl, I don't remember her name. The thing is, I find most heroines the same these days. Bidipta said she was going to play a character based on either Kanan Debi or Chhaya Debi and asked me to guide her. Bidipta never came to me after that. I was watching the serial with interest as the director is known to do good work. But I am thoroughly disappointed. What they are showing is removed from reality and all that happened is not there! Supriya is alive, so am I... Madhabi too had seen a bit of Uttam Kumar — I don't know why the makers did not get in touch with us. After a few episodes were aired, wherever I went, they asked me one question: Why aren't you protesting? Mamata Shankar, Madhabi are among them. But I am old and can't go about fighting with the world.
You also did not like the portrayal of Gauri Debi, wife of Uttam Kumar...
Gauri Debi was so pretty that people would compare her with the Durga idol. The only problem was that she never minced her words. She was very outspoken. Uttamda told me how he would teach music to the two sisters in Bhowanipore. While training her, both of them fell in love and got married. When Subhadra was releasing, Uttamda attended a show at Fern Road, Ballygunge. We had still not done a film together. He came to me and said, 'You have done a great job'. Our first film together was Lakh Taka, after which we did Annapurnar Mandir. In between, I joined Star Theatre. I used to perform Adarsha Hindu Hotel regularly, which became popular. Why aren't these in Mahanayak? I used to go to Uttamda's house regularly and was close to Gauri Debi. One day, Uttamda said how his father-in-law had told him, 'My daughter is like a mound of clay. You can mould her the way you want'. In response, he said, 'The clay is hard'.
Do you feel all the events are incorrect?
I have stopped watching the series. Frankly, I don't think Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen were in love, ever. Suchitra was in love with herself. The other person she loved was her daughter, Moon Moon. That apart, she did feel a lot for her husband, Dibanath Sen. One day, Suchitra called out for me at NT1. She was very moody and I used to stay away from her. That day, I went and she asked me for a paan. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, 'Kore kheli kintu Sabitrir moto toh obinoy korte parlina'. She was unpredictable. Another day, Uttamda and I were with her and she said, 'Haan re Uttam, shei toh ghar chharli, Sabi ki dosh korechhilo re. Tokey toh khub bhalobashe'. I couldn't stop blushing. We both felt like running away. It's the same Suchitra who wouldn't recognise me another day. With her around, each day was different. Once, Uttamda and I were travelling in a car and he asked the driver to halt in front of a hotel. He asked me, 'Ramar (Suchitra) gari na?' I said, 'Mone toh hoy'. He said, 'Let me find out what she is doing'. Though I pointed out how it would be totally uncalled for, he was extremely caring about Suchitra. But there was no love. Dibanath and Suchitra did not share a bitter relationship from the start. Also, Supriya was encouraged by her husband to do films. After giving birth to her child, when she returned to films, we did a movie together. She had put on a lot of kilos and played my sister-in-law.
Weren't you against Uttam Kumar leaving his home for Supriya Debi?
Yes, I was. I called him to my Tollygunge home and said, 'You had loved me too, but why are you leaving your family? You can't be happy by making others cry'. Before this, it was splashed in the papers that he and I were sharing a Ballygunge apartment. There were a lot of problems in his house. On the contrary, my father never asked me a thing; he was confident of his daughter. My father was against me joining this industry. But when we came here after the Partition, we had no other option. There was no money and I had to earn to support my family. Uttamda was my first love; I had no idea of love before I met him. He would tell me, 'You are a little older than Gautam (his son)'. There was a lot of age difference between us. But he would confide in me and I developed a lot of sympathy for him. Uttamda would come to our house and have kalai er dal and posto. He would cry sitting next to my sister, Sonadi. I would be equally disturbed on hearing his stories. My life was sad as well. The love I mean was not love in the usual sense of the term; it was love that grew out of sympathy. When he left home, he said, 'I had loved Gauri. And in this field, I loved you'. During the dubbing of Praktan, I had met Prosenjit and I told him, 'Please be true to what had happened'. The other day, I met him and asked, 'What are you showing in Mahanayak?' and all he said was he'll come home...
Didn't Uttam Kumar want to settle down with you?
I wouldn't say he never did. But I knew in his heart of hearts, he couldn't have. He had a son, a family. And whatever we shared was not his responsibility alone; I too had stepped ahead.
Wasn't it difficult to accept the fact that Uttam Kumar had moved on?
I had produced a film which starred Uttamda — Momer Alo. We were shooting in Rajgir. One night, I saw Uttamda and Supriya taking a stroll, hand-in-hand. I felt bad and quietly retreated to my room. I had gone to his house on his insistence, but the number of visits was very few. Supriya had tried to take her life once and I went to see her. She said she was in great pain. I joked and said if she had consumed some more of what she did, it would have relieved her from all the pain. Before that, another heroine had consumed poison for a director and called him to say that! When someone asked me about it, I said I had myself thought of dying but every time I would think about it, some other heroine would do it. And every time it got deferred, my resolve would go away.
There are a few incidents shown in Mahanayak that you are totally against...
They have shown that my character is crying on Kanan Debi's shoulder... I had joined this industry after she left. Though we shared a great relationship, we never worked together. Also, I met Uttam Kumar long after she had quit acting. How could I have shared my secrets with Kanan Debi! Again, despite being the most celebrated pair, Suchitra wanted to prove herself by breaking away from the mould. She realised the pair was getting famous, but no one was talking about her acting. That's why she began to shoulder films like Dweep Jwele Jai on her own.
Did you meet Bidipta after that?
No! In the serial I liked Paoli and somewhat the acting of the actress who is playing Gauri Debi (Mishka Halim). See, I can't put up a fight against the producers of the series. I know no one.
Why do you think the TRPs of the show are so low?
I think the audience can't accept anyone else as Uttam Kumar. Also, there isn't much clarity on the events. Some of the actors are still alive. Just 15 days before he breathed his last, Uttamda had come to my house. I had decided to produce a film based on an Ashapurna Devi story. You won't believe, Supriya called up 30 times! I took the call and said, 'Do you think we'll eat your husband up? Don't behave like this'. I kept the phone and saw tears rolling down Uttamda's cheeks.
After my family came here, said Sabitri Chatterjee, Bhanu Bandopadhyay, spotted me at Rashbehari one day and asked me to join the theatre group, Uttar Sarathi. Back then, Uttam Kumar was known as Arun Kumar. One day, he came to watch my rehearsals for a play at Kalika theatre. On getting to know about this, I ran to see him and rammed into a piece of furniture, injuring my right foot. I was bleeding but couldn't contain my excitement. For me, seeing him was a great achievement. Once I was done, Bhanu Bandopadhyay told me, 'Uttam has a group called Krishti O Srishti and he wants you to be part of their production.' I asked him to take permission from my father.
What next?
Uttamda came to the house one day without prior intimation. We were in a pitiable state, the pillows were torn and there was no place to sit. I was really embarrassed. My father said he would give permission only if I was escorted to and from the rehearsals. While Uttamda was about to leave, my father asked him to pay an advance; I was shocked! My father was asking money from Uttam Kumar! I felt like dying... Uttamda took out a `50 note from his pocket and handed it to my father. After he left, I asked him why he did it. My father said, 'Am I asking for money without a reason? Haven't I raised all my daughters single-handedly? Today, I have no other option'. I was very sad. At that time, we hardly had the money to eat.
You must have been happy to join Uttam Kumar's group...
The rehearsals began. Uttamda would take me to the rehearsals and bring me home. We used to take the tram... My second film, Subhadra under Sunanda Debi productions happened in a few years. By then, we had got a house in Tollygunge through an exchange. Sunanda Debi came to my house and said how everyone was against my casting as a tragic heroine. Though she was impressed with my acting in Pasher Bari, she said everyone was doubtful about my new role. I fell on her feet and asked her to give me the role. Around the same time, I tasted success with the play, Notun Yahudi. Initially, people raised a brow and said who this famished young girl was. But my acting and Bangal accent were lauded by all. Sisir Bhaduri, who had come to watch the play, said, 'Ekta Bangal meye toder mukhe juto mere diye chole gelo!' Sunanda Debi took me for two of her films — Subhadra and Kajari. On the day of the mahurat, all the great directors of Bengal had come to attend it. My legs were shaking in fear. I was given two dialogues and I prayed to all the gods. After I delivered the lines, the guests kept asking: 'Ei meyeti ke?'. The films started. Initially, I would go to the sets on being asked. One day, Sunanda Debi asked me, 'Why do you do that? You must watch other actors perform'. I follow it till today. Every actor has a lot to offer. The young actresses today do not do that.
Aren't you particularly angry about the series, Mahanayak?
I knew about the series because it's directed by Bidipta's (Chakraborty) husband (Birsa Dasgupta). I've met him before — he is a young boy who has made Obhishopto Nighty. Bidipta told me one day, 'Sabudi, do you know they have got a good cast, but there isn't anyone who can play your character'. I asked, 'Why do you need another Sabitri Chatterjee?' That's when I got to know about Mahanayak and that Prosenjit was about to play Uttam Kumar. A few days after that, she told me they have found a girl, I don't remember her name. The thing is, I find most heroines the same these days. Bidipta said she was going to play a character based on either Kanan Debi or Chhaya Debi and asked me to guide her. Bidipta never came to me after that. I was watching the serial with interest as the director is known to do good work. But I am thoroughly disappointed. What they are showing is removed from reality and all that happened is not there! Supriya is alive, so am I... Madhabi too had seen a bit of Uttam Kumar — I don't know why the makers did not get in touch with us. After a few episodes were aired, wherever I went, they asked me one question: Why aren't you protesting? Mamata Shankar, Madhabi are among them. But I am old and can't go about fighting with the world.
You also did not like the portrayal of Gauri Debi, wife of Uttam Kumar...
Gauri Debi was so pretty that people would compare her with the Durga idol. The only problem was that she never minced her words. She was very outspoken. Uttamda told me how he would teach music to the two sisters in Bhowanipore. While training her, both of them fell in love and got married. When Subhadra was releasing, Uttamda attended a show at Fern Road, Ballygunge. We had still not done a film together. He came to me and said, 'You have done a great job'. Our first film together was Lakh Taka, after which we did Annapurnar Mandir. In between, I joined Star Theatre. I used to perform Adarsha Hindu Hotel regularly, which became popular. Why aren't these in Mahanayak? I used to go to Uttamda's house regularly and was close to Gauri Debi. One day, Uttamda said how his father-in-law had told him, 'My daughter is like a mound of clay. You can mould her the way you want'. In response, he said, 'The clay is hard'.
Do you feel all the events are incorrect?
I have stopped watching the series. Frankly, I don't think Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen were in love, ever. Suchitra was in love with herself. The other person she loved was her daughter, Moon Moon. That apart, she did feel a lot for her husband, Dibanath Sen. One day, Suchitra called out for me at NT1. She was very moody and I used to stay away from her. That day, I went and she asked me for a paan. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, 'Kore kheli kintu Sabitrir moto toh obinoy korte parlina'. She was unpredictable. Another day, Uttamda and I were with her and she said, 'Haan re Uttam, shei toh ghar chharli, Sabi ki dosh korechhilo re. Tokey toh khub bhalobashe'. I couldn't stop blushing. We both felt like running away. It's the same Suchitra who wouldn't recognise me another day. With her around, each day was different. Once, Uttamda and I were travelling in a car and he asked the driver to halt in front of a hotel. He asked me, 'Ramar (Suchitra) gari na?' I said, 'Mone toh hoy'. He said, 'Let me find out what she is doing'. Though I pointed out how it would be totally uncalled for, he was extremely caring about Suchitra. But there was no love. Dibanath and Suchitra did not share a bitter relationship from the start. Also, Supriya was encouraged by her husband to do films. After giving birth to her child, when she returned to films, we did a movie together. She had put on a lot of kilos and played my sister-in-law.
Weren't you against Uttam Kumar leaving his home for Supriya Debi?
Yes, I was. I called him to my Tollygunge home and said, 'You had loved me too, but why are you leaving your family? You can't be happy by making others cry'. Before this, it was splashed in the papers that he and I were sharing a Ballygunge apartment. There were a lot of problems in his house. On the contrary, my father never asked me a thing; he was confident of his daughter. My father was against me joining this industry. But when we came here after the Partition, we had no other option. There was no money and I had to earn to support my family. Uttamda was my first love; I had no idea of love before I met him. He would tell me, 'You are a little older than Gautam (his son)'. There was a lot of age difference between us. But he would confide in me and I developed a lot of sympathy for him. Uttamda would come to our house and have kalai er dal and posto. He would cry sitting next to my sister, Sonadi. I would be equally disturbed on hearing his stories. My life was sad as well. The love I mean was not love in the usual sense of the term; it was love that grew out of sympathy. When he left home, he said, 'I had loved Gauri. And in this field, I loved you'. During the dubbing of Praktan, I had met Prosenjit and I told him, 'Please be true to what had happened'. The other day, I met him and asked, 'What are you showing in Mahanayak?' and all he said was he'll come home...
Didn't Uttam Kumar want to settle down with you?
I wouldn't say he never did. But I knew in his heart of hearts, he couldn't have. He had a son, a family. And whatever we shared was not his responsibility alone; I too had stepped ahead.
Wasn't it difficult to accept the fact that Uttam Kumar had moved on?
I had produced a film which starred Uttamda — Momer Alo. We were shooting in Rajgir. One night, I saw Uttamda and Supriya taking a stroll, hand-in-hand. I felt bad and quietly retreated to my room. I had gone to his house on his insistence, but the number of visits was very few. Supriya had tried to take her life once and I went to see her. She said she was in great pain. I joked and said if she had consumed some more of what she did, it would have relieved her from all the pain. Before that, another heroine had consumed poison for a director and called him to say that! When someone asked me about it, I said I had myself thought of dying but every time I would think about it, some other heroine would do it. And every time it got deferred, my resolve would go away.
There are a few incidents shown in Mahanayak that you are totally against...
They have shown that my character is crying on Kanan Debi's shoulder... I had joined this industry after she left. Though we shared a great relationship, we never worked together. Also, I met Uttam Kumar long after she had quit acting. How could I have shared my secrets with Kanan Debi! Again, despite being the most celebrated pair, Suchitra wanted to prove herself by breaking away from the mould. She realised the pair was getting famous, but no one was talking about her acting. That's why she began to shoulder films like Dweep Jwele Jai on her own.
Did you meet Bidipta after that?
No! In the serial I liked Paoli and somewhat the acting of the actress who is playing Gauri Debi (Mishka Halim). See, I can't put up a fight against the producers of the series. I know no one.
Why do you think the TRPs of the show are so low?
I think the audience can't accept anyone else as Uttam Kumar. Also, there isn't much clarity on the events. Some of the actors are still alive. Just 15 days before he breathed his last, Uttamda had come to my house. I had decided to produce a film based on an Ashapurna Devi story. You won't believe, Supriya called up 30 times! I took the call and said, 'Do you think we'll eat your husband up? Don't behave like this'. I kept the phone and saw tears rolling down Uttamda's cheeks.
Coming to the present, who all do you want to work with from the industry?
I was sad that Shibu (Shiboprosad Mukherjee) and Nandita (Roy) chopped off two of my scenes. If they had retained them and edited out a few scenes of Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta, it would have been better. Apa (Aparajita Auddy) too could have toned down a bit. Despite having worked with her in Jal Nupur, she often fails to recognise me. I have done 400 films and still sit on the floor to eat. Having said that, the response I got for just one scene in Praktan is amazing. I got calls from people I lost touch with. Chhabi Biswas would be spoken about for simply moving a stick with his hand; this came as a surprise. There were just a few briefs for the scene where I speak Hindi in Bengali accent — holud ka daag hai, arsola udta hai, itna ganda kyun hai... I developed the lines and to what effect! Wherever I am going, people are asking me to utter those lines.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/suchitra-and-uttam-kumar-were-never-in-love-sabitri-chatterjee/articleshow/53698576.cms?utm_source=toimobile&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=referral
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