Chhaya Devi

Chhaya Devi (Bengali: ছায়া দেবী) (3 June 1919 – 25 April 2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema.[2] She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades.

Chhaya Devi
শ্রীমতি ছায়া দেবী (কাদম্বিনী ভট্টাচার্য)
Born(1914-06-03)3 June 1914[1]
Bhagalpur, Bihar and Orissa, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bihar, India)
Died25 April 2001(2001-04-25) (aged 86)[1]
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
OccupationActress
Years active1920s–1980s

Her first lead role was in Debaki Bose's Bengali film Sonar Sansar (1936). She rose to hall of fame for her role as Rani Lakshmi in Debaki Bose's Vidyapati (1937).[3] Some of her notable films are such as Nirjan Saikate (1963), Hatey Bazarey (1967) and Apanjan (1968) by Tapan Sinha, Saptapadi (1961), Uttar Falguni (1963), Antony Firingee (1967), in Bengali, Alaap (1977) in Hindi, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan.

Early life

Chhaya Devi was born in Bhagalpur.[4] Her father was Haradhan Gangopadhyay. She started her education in the Mokshda Girls High School in Adampur, Bhagalpur. Later her father was transferred to Delhi and she continued her education in the Indraprastha Girls School. She was married to Buddhadeb Chattopadhyay, a teacher at Ranchi, at the age of eleven. Her marriage did not last long and she came to Kolkata with her father when she was a student of tenth standard only.[5] She was first cousin of actor Ashok Kumar's wife Shobha Ganguly, thus having relations to the Ganguly family also.[6] However, though very little is known about her early life, her life is believed to be full of struggle. After she reached Kolkata she chose her career as an actress in films and stage, which she pursued for the next five decades.[7]

Career

Though Chhaya Devi debuted in Bengali movie Sonar Sansar in 1936, she acquired fame for the outstanding acting in the role of Queen Lakshmi in the movie Bidyapati in 1938.[7][8] From lead female roles in her early days to character roles in her later years, Chhaya Devi had shown her creative ability in acting. In Atal Jaler Ahwan (1962), she stole the heart of the viewers with her soft and loving acting as surrogate mother of Soumitra. In Deya Neya (1963) she acted as the helpless mother of the aspirant singer Prashanta (Uttam Kumar). In the movie Saat Pake Badha (1963) she was the heartless, rude and indifferent mother of Suchitra Sen opposing the affair of her daughter with Soumitra. Chhaya Devi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar in many films. In Anthony Firingee (1967), Chhaya Devi was mother of Hensman Antony (Uttam Kumar). Apanjan, an outstanding film directed by Tapan Sinha in 1967, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali,[9] as well as several BFJA Awards, was considered having one of the best of the performances of Chhaya Devi.[10] In Podi Pisir Bormi Bakso (1972), a children's movie made from a story written by Leela Majumdar and directed by Arundhati Devi, Chhaya Devi played an unforgettable lead comic role of Podi Pisi, the widowed elderly aunt.[7]

Filmography
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References
  1. "বাংলা ছবির আইকনিক 'মা' ছায়াদেবী, বাস্তবে তাঁকে আগলে রেখেছিলেন মানসকন্যা তনুশ্রী-দেবশ্রী". TheWall. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. "Chhaya Devi movies, filmography, biography and songs - Cinestaan.com". Cinestaan. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  3. "Vidyapati (1937) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  4. "অত গ্ল্যামার নিয়ে ভাবলে সাবানের বিজ্ঞাপন করতাম - Anandabazar". anandabazar.com. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  5. "Biography of Chhaya Debi". Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  6. Film world, Volume 16. T.M. Ramachandran. 1979. p. 43.
  7. "The lady who ruled the screen – Chhaya Devi and her seven unforgettable films". Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  8. "Chhaya Devi". Upperstall.com. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  9. "16th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  10. "BFJA Awards (1969)".
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