Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar maintained that they were colleagues but their fans perceived them as a couple. Most believed that without a strong mutual attraction, the passion and romance portrayed by them on-screen, would not be possible. By Maitreyee B Chowdhury

With her sophisticated looks, fiery and expressive eyes, strong personality and bearing, Suchitra Sen was an instant hit with the youth of Bengal from the 1950s through the 1970s. Uttam Kumar, with his famous smile and charming demeanour, too was a phenomenon to reckon with. And together, they were an unbeatable romantic pair. Of the 60 films Suchitra Sen worked in, 30 were with Uttam Kumar.

The star pair ushered in what came to be known as the golden era of Bengali cinema. A whole generation of men and women, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, grew up on the Uttam and Suchitra magic. Coupled with astounding music and great scripts, Uttam and Suchitra starrers became simply unbeatable.

Awe inspiring personality

While her acting skills had worthy equals, none came close to her ‘star’ personality. Be it her carriage, demeanour, attitude towards life, or even her sudden retirement and withdrawal from public life, Suchitra remains a mystery. A look at Suchitra’s life and films reveals an intelligent woman intensely aware of her capabilities and charisma, and who went to great length to retain her mystique. A veteran of 60 films, she lent her inherent charm and poise to each character she portrayed. She mesmerised not only men, but an entire generation of women, too. They imitated her personality, carriage, smile, and even dressed like her in Bengal and beyond. During Durga Puja celebrations, idols of lakshmi and Saraswati (Goddesses of wealth and learning, respectively) were known to have been modelled on her face. Such was the adulation she received in Bengal.

Suchitra’s journey into the world of Bengali cinema was not a smooth one. Besides fighting her way up through several screen tests and meetings with directors, she also encountered formidable resistance at home — her responsibilities as the daughter-in-law and a mother to a daughter, and her father-in-law’s opinion about working women. later, the family, especially her husband, supported her and even tried the Bimal Roy-connection (her mother-in-law’s brother), to get her a foothold in Bengali cinema. ‘Mrs Sen’, as she came to be known in the Bengali film circle, was probably the first Indian actress to enter films as a young mother.

life in the Sen household was full of fun and frolic, and parties. Almost every night was a party night, whether the Sen couple were in town or holidaying. Home was filled with warmth with unending celebrations, especially on Diwali, Christmas and Suchitra’s famous lakshmi Puja. Easter cakes were distributed to everyone in school and trucks were hired after Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja to immerse the idols.

Daughter Moon Moon remembers her mother being very glamorous off-screen, too. At times, her mother would be dressed in black lace and red feathers for a night-out.

Asit Chowdhury, a producer, had thrown a party at Grand Hotel in Kolkata to honour Suchitra for winning the best-actor award in Moscow International Film Festival for Saat Pake Bandha.

Suchitra surprised the audience by suddenly ripping actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s shirt off his chest, as she had done in the film! In those days, such a stunt could have been carried off only by a personality, such as Suchitra, believes Aparna Sen, who attended it.

It would be impossible to define the woman that Suchitra was those days — sometimes childlike, sometimes a diva, at times a complete homebody, and at other times a blazing cinestar. Her charm in each of these avatars captivated and mesmerised her admirers. She was an enigma. There was also a bewitching duality about Suchitra’s personality. She could be snooty and reprimanding at times, and loving and soft the very next moment. While the woman in her was well-aware of her charms, she did not use it to entice others. However, she was certainly impish, a quality that endeared her to others.

Dilip Kumar, who worked with her in Devdas, was reportedly captivated by the combination of her beauty and brains. His admiration for Suchitra is believed to have irked Vyjayanthimala, who played Chandramukhi in the film.

Made for each other

Did Uttam and Suchitra fight amongst themselves, throw tantrums at each other, or were they the best of friends, soul mates or more intense and intimate than thatIJ Were they thorough professionals or did they allow their personal lives to intrude into their professional space, once in a whileIJ And more importantly, was their off-stage persona as charismatic as their on-screen presenceIJ

Any director, producer or a film journalist, of the 1960s, would vouch for Uttam’s and Suchitra’s devotion to their craft. Suchitra is believed to have expressed the desire to complete her work even the day her husband died. Comparable incidents abound, as well, about Uttam’s dedication to work.

Among the many passions the duo shared, the love of films and the wish to do something different each time seemed to be a common denominator. In their distinct ways, both stars brought not only a great degree of charm but also professionalism to their roles. It is difficult to not notice the spontaneity and the consummate ease with which they acted their part; how much they added to each other’s presence. Their unique professional chemistry ultimately became a hallmark of their greatness as actors. Perhaps, this professional integrity and dynamism made Suchitra and Uttam what they were. Instead of standing out as two formidable rivals, they blended their individualities beautifully, to become the most celebrated off-screen pair, ever.

Box-office records speak volumes on the Suchitra-Uttam cinematic pairing. Though their biggest hits include Sagarika, Saptapadi, Harano Sur, Har Mana Har, Indrani and Bipasha (1962), it was Agnipariksha by the Agradoot Group that really got the couple going. Agnipariksha saw Suchitra come of age in her performance. Then on, she gave only fine and mature performances.

After a string of successful films, the Uttam and Suchitra brand become a money-spinner in Bengal. This frustrated both stars because they wished to prove their mettle individually too, and with other co-stars.

A diva and star in her heyday, Suchitra is said to have commanded a price of around Rs 1 lakh per film. At times she was paid even more than the film’s hero. Her tremendous success, coupled with her temperament, made her the object of awe. Suchitra tasted commercial success like very few of her contemporaries did. In an age and era where men ruled the roost, Suchitra was the first woman to ride the crest of success and command a brand value that contributed enormously to the marketing of her films.

Much to the chagrin of most heroes except Uttam, Suchitra was all-encompassing and predominant in the films she worked in. Posters of her films carried bigger images of her than those of the heroes. Box-office gurus hailed the films as Suchitra-films most of the time. Only with Uttam did she find an equal in stature and popularity.

Uttam and Suchitra’s celluloid escapades left the palate for romance, craving for more. From brooding to mellow, they covered the entire repertoire. However, much of Uttam and Suchitra’s craze had to do with a society that was still awkward with issues of romance and intimacy. The socio-cultural milieu of the 1950s, when the pair reigned as screen idols, prohibited of public expression of love. Uttam and Suchitra broke that taboo.

Be it by gazing at each other forlornly or by singing songs hand-in-hand, and other romantic intimacies, they chose to explore unchartered territory. Uttam and Suchitra singing songs together or going on a date by the hills, as in Agnipariksha, were beyond the imagination of the common man.

In an interview, Uttam narrated an amusing anecdote on how this demand would influence even a serious script. During the shooting of Saptapadi, it had been decided that the film would end with the heroine dying on the beach and her lover pining for her. On hearing this, the producer approached Uttam with folded hands and pleaded, “Please do not show a tragic end with the death of Suchitra, the heroine. We will be deprived of a hit film and ruined by financial debts.” According to him the audience would have never accepted a film where Uttam and Suchitra were not united at the end. He even suggested an appropriate ending where the heroine could emerge from the sea and fling herself on the hero. Highly amused, Uttam asked the producer to meet scriptwriter, Nitai Bhattacharya, with a request for the necessary changes. Nitai Bhattacharya apparently demanded a princely sum of Rs  2,000 to do so. Saptapadi ended on an ambiguous note. The last scene showed Uttam carrying Suchitra amidst tall shadows of a church, indicating a holy union. Scriptwriter Bhattacharya had obviously made a smart move. By allowing the audience to decide their own end, he managed to satisfy his producer, and retain the artistic sensibility of a serious script.

However, in most Uttam and Suchitra films, there was precious little experimentation with them as a pair. Uttam usually played the role of either a spoilt and egoistic male or that of a rustic and ignored plebeian who had to be raised in social status by the rich and affluent Suchitra as his partner in love. Suchitra was mostly portrayed as the quintessential woman — rich or poor, someone who was amazingly good at almost everything. Uttam and Suchitra were also perfect foils to each other. Suchitra was usually a lady with an ego and blistering personality, while Uttam was the affable lover with a touch of mischievousness, with a song on his lips, and his winsome smile. Suchitra’s haughty demeanour, where she was shown belonging to a rich family, looked very real. On the other hand, Uttam’s gullible disposition and charm made him the perfect lover who would ultimately win over his lady love. Together, they were a pair pitted as opposites that attract, yet they had inherent similarities.

Uttam and Suchitra had to fight an uphill battle against a section of cinegoers in Kolkata — highbrowed intellectuals rejected romantic films altogether. These educated Bengalis, steeped in nationalistic sentiments with strong political affiliations, preferred theatre, instead. To them, Gulam Khuddus’ recitation or Tulsi lahiri’s theatre was far more alluring. Others were drawn to Hindi cinema. Popular Hindi cinema pairs, such as Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani or Raj Kapoor and Nargis reigned supreme in their hearts, with little scope for Bengali artistes to claim a share of the pie.

Given the situation, it was left to Uttam and Suchitra to not only revive interest in Bengali cinema but also to offer the audience what they wanted: romance, glamour and a feel-good factor that stayed with them after they walked out of the theatres.

What they meant to each other

However much Uttam and Suchitra maintained that they were nothing but colleagues, their fans perceived them as a couple. Most believed that without a strong mutual attraction, the passion and romance portrayed by them on-screen, would not be possible.

Much of the Uttam and Suchitra off-screen romance could have been pure conjecture but it is also possible that the truth was never allowed to surface. love outside marriage was still a taboo; added to it was a societal notion of a virtuous woman — limited to the roles of mother, wife or sister but never a lover. That Suchitra was a married woman was never forgotten. Had Uttam and Suchitra made any public display of emotions, it would have had a disastrous impact on their lives and careers.

According to studio gossip, Uttam had proposed to Suchitra several times, but she did not accept his proposal since she believed in the sanctity of marriage and was aware of her standing in society.

Uttam was one of the few people who had the privilege of calling Suchitra by her real name — Roma. They also endearingly addressed each other as ‘tui’ (equivalent of Hindi ‘tu’; used only with very close relationships in Bengali).

Apparently Suchitra, who called herself Uttam’s Priyo Bandhobi, would often visit him, both at home and in the studios. like lovers they would bicker with each other about their roles, have tiffs, both dramatic and personal, and even cajole each other into doing things that others could never make them do. The two were known to constantly keep each other company in their make-up vans. In fact, many studio hands spoke of how the two went out for drives together if they were shooting in adjacent locations. Visiting each other on the sets or sharing food between shots was also quite common. Platonic or spiritual, their mutual admiration was palpable and infectious. Both shared much more than their films and would even look to each other for solace in times both good and bad.

While it is known to most that Suchitra visited the Belur Math, few know that Uttam did so, too. Both of them would religiously sit in their puja rooms in the morning, and loved incense sticks.

The two had tremendous respect for each other, too. Uttam and Suchitra’s relationship was based on mutual trust, appreciation and admiration for each other’s work and personality.

Suchitra’s influence on Uttam and vice-versa was well known to most in the industry. For the shooting of Priyo Bandhobi, Uttam could allot only few dates at first. When the perturbed producer contacted Suchitra, she took the responsibility of talking to Uttam; the matter was resolved in no time with the producer being allotted adequate dates. Similarly, on several occasions, when Suchitra, famous for her tantrums, refused to shoot, Uttam cajoled her into relenting. The fact that she had to always be cajoled by Uttam also fuelled the curiosity of bystanders who vouched they had a special relationship. Perhaps, it is this influence which led Uttam to seek her out in moments of crisis, too. Despite rumours of their blossoming closeness, it is, however, quite possible they were much ahead of their times, sharing a unique friendship not in accordance with social conventions. Tarun Kumar, Uttam’s brother agrees that, “The very modernity of their relationship might have courted controversies. After all, one must remember those were times when society was yet to acknowledge close friendship between a man and a woman.”

Supriya Devi, Uttam’s companion of 17 years, narrates several incidents that bring to light another dimension of this friendship. Passionate romance or teasing humour, Suchitra is believed to have pulled Supriya’s leg on many such occasions. Once, when Suchitra called up to speak to Uttam, on being informed that he had stepped out, she mischievously added, “What a pity. I felt like kissing him.”

Amidst affection and spontaneity, there were also ego clashes which often took a serious turn, bringing the shooting to a halt.

Sen’s biographer Gopal Krishna Roy says whenever he tried to ask Suchitra about her relationship with Uttam, she either clammed up or got into a philosophical mood. It would be impossible to extract a proper reply from her. “When I told her once that there was a particular look she had for Uttam, which was distinctly different from what she had for other heroes, she ignored the fact and went on to say that on the sets, they were nothing but extreme professionals. What they were outside the sets, therefore, remains a matter of much speculation.”

When asked what he thought made the couple so special, he replied, “As a romantic pair, they were simply superb. It is my personal opinion that there are many artistes who can show a love affair on-screen, but what Uttam and Suchitra projected was beyond that of a normal love affair; it was a sort of meeting of two perfect souls who did not only complement each other physically but also shared a strong bond that was platonic as much as it was romantic. Their emotional-spiritual bonding made the pairing so special.”

Interestingly, whenever Suchitra was asked to define her relationship with Uttam, she was brief with her words. Uttam admitted to having not only a soft corner for Suchitra, but also that he was in awe of her as a co-actor, as well as a person. He reportedly once said that the fact that Suchitra was such an attractive woman spurred his acting abilities and made it easier for him to emote as an actor, too. He apparently admitted that while acting with Suchitra, he looked forward to the romance, unlike his earlier heroines who were mostly much older to him. “Roma is the most beautiful, the most glamorous among all my leading ladies. I have been lucky to have had the exclusive right to be cast as the man she falls in love with,” he said in an interview.

Whether Suchitra had the same feelings for him was endlessly discussed in drawing rooms. It was neither validated nor denied by Suchitra. Yet she had once said, “I don’t care about other actors but Uttam is very special. I have never seen a great actor like him.”

Uttam was quite forthcoming about Suchitra’s influence on him, “While working in the film Sare Chuattor with Roma, I understood that my heroine had arrived. Had Suchitra not been by my side, I would never have been Uttam.” Humbling words indeed from a star as great as him, but that was the hallmark of a man who had genuine adulation for his co-star.

Whether Uttam and Suchitra were as deeply involved with each other in reality shall forever remain unanswered. Gopal Krishna Roy says, “Suchitra had visited Uttam on his last journey, on the day of his death at 2:30 am. When the garland that she had brought along with her was placed on the body of Uttam, she whispered, ‘Gently lest he be hurt.’”

courtesy Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen: Bengali Cinema’s First Couple (published by Om Books International)