#Chhaya Devi - Actress of Classic Unforgettable Films.

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14/02/2020.

Chhaya Devi - Actress of Classic Unforgettable Films.

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1. Profile :

Born 1914, Bhagalpur, Bihar and Orissa, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bihar, India)
Died 27 April 2001 (aged 86–87), Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Occupation Actress
Years active 1920s–1980s
Chhaya Devi : (1914–2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades.
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2. Introduction :

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).[2] 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.
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3. Early life :

Chhaya Devi was born in Bhagalpur. 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. She was first cousin of actor Ashok Kumar's wife Shobha Ganguly, thus having relations to the Ganguly family also.[5] 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.
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4. 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. 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, as well as several BFJA Awards, was considered having one of the best of the performances of Chhaya Devi. 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.

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5. Filmography :

5.1 1930s-

1936 Sonar Sansar - Roma

1936 Rajani - Maid Servant

1937 Bidyapati - Queen Laxmi

1937 Ranga Bou - Kalyani

1938 Bekar Nashan - Kamal

1938 Hal Bangla - Sefali

1939 Bamanabatar - Sachi

1939 Jakher Dhan

1939 Debjani - Debjani

1939 Janak Nandini - Chandika

1939 Rikta - Karuna
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5.2 1940s -

1940 Abhinetri

1940 Haar Jeet

1941 Sree Radha

1942 Jiban Sangini - Atar

1942 Avayer Biye

1942 Chauranghee

1942 Mera Gaon

1945 Bondita

1946 Uttara Abhimanyu

1947 Burmar Pathey

1947 Jharer Par

1948 Dhatri Debata

1948 Anirban

1949 Abhijatya

1949 Kuasha
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5.3 1950s -

1950 Sree Tulsidas

1951 Ratnadeep

1956 Raat Bhore

1956 Shankar Narayan Bank

1956 Daner Maryada - Malati

1956 King, Queen, Knave - Bara bou

1956 Subhalagna

1956 Trijama

1957 Mayabazar

1958 Marmabani

1959 Gali Theke Rajpath
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5.4 1960s -

1960 Kumkuma Rekha

1961 Seetharama Kalyanam

1961 Pankatilak

1961 Manik (1961)

1961 Agni Sanskar

1962 Daksha Yagnam

1962 Kancher Swarga

1962 Abasheshe

1962 Atal Jaler Ahwan - Anuradha Debi

1962 Rakta Palash

1963 Paruvu Prathishta

1963 Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu

1963 Kanchan Kanya

1963 Deya Neya

1961 Saptapadi - Rina's Mother (Aayah)

1963 Nirjan Saikate

1963 Saat Pake Bandha - Archana's Mother

1963 Uttar Falguni - Baijee

1965 Mukhujey Paribar

1965 Antaral

1965 Arohi

1965 Kanch Kata Hirey

1965 Surya Tapa

1965 Thana Theke Aschi

1965 Tu Hi Meri Zindagi

1966 Paramanandayya Sishyula Katha

1966 Navarathri

1966 Galpo Holeo Satti - Bara Bou

1966 Mamta - Minabai

1967 Shri Krishnavataram

1967 Mahashweta

1967 Antony Firingee - Antony's Mother

1967 Hatey Bazarey - Nani

1968 Teen Adhaya

1968 Apanjan - Anandamoyee

1968 Baghini

1969 Nindu Hrudayalu

1969 Arogya Niketan (film) - Atar Bou

1969 Kamallata

1969 Pita Putra

1969 The Fiancee - Bhubaneswari

1969 Protidan
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5.5 1970s -

1970 Kalankita Nayak

1970 Rajkumari

1970 Muktisnan

1970 Samantaral

1971 Kuheli - Manodadi

1972 Har Mana Har

1972 Sesh Parba

1972 Padi Pishir Barmi Baksha - Aunt Padipishi

1972 Zindagi Zindagi

1974 Debi Chowdhurani - Brajeswar's mother

1974 Alor Thikana

1975 Swayamsiddha

1975 Harano Prapti Niruddesh

1975 Phool Sajya

1976 Jyothi

1976 Harmonium

1976 Sei Chokh

1977 Kalpana

1977 Proxy

1977 Pratima

1977 Ae Prithibi Pantha Niwas

1977 Baba Taraknath

1977 Ek Je Chhilo Desh

1977 Babu Moshai

1977 Alaap - Sarju Bai Banaraswali

1978 Dhanraj Tamang

1978 Nadi Theke Sagare

1979 Arun barun O Kironmala
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5.6 1980s -

1981 Kalankini

1981 Subarnalata

1981 Manikchand

1981 Surya Sakhi

1982 Rajbadhu

1982 Pipasa

1983 Shinkhal

1983 Rang Birangi - Mrs. Bannerjee

1983 Prayashchitta

1984 Rashifal

1984 Lal Golap

1984 Simantarag

1987 Swarnamoir Thikana

1987 Pratikar

1988 Boba Sanai
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6. TRIBUTE - Chhaya Devi :

Chhaya Devi was one of the finest actresses that Indian cinema has seen. She has acted in over 150 films not just in Bengali, but also in Hindi, Tamil and Assamese and was known for her powerhouse performances.

Chhaya Devi was born in Bhagalpur in 1914. Her family was associated with the performing acts and she was related to Ashok Kumar via his wife, Shobha Ganguly. She took early lessons in classical Hindustani music from Bundi Ustad and in Calcutta from KC Dey, who introduced her to filmmaker Debaki Bose. This led to her acting in films.

Her first lead role was in Bose’s Sonar Sansar (1936), a parable about human suffering and capitalist enterprise but she really came into prominence the following year with Bose’s Bidyapati (Bengali)/Vidyapati (Hindi) regarded as perhaps New Theatres’ finest film. In the film(s), she played the role of the Queen Lakshmi who falls in love with the pacifist court poet Bidyapati much to the distress of the king. In the climactic scene, the king dies of shock and the queen accepts a cup of poison offered to her by the wily Chief Minister. The film, Bose’s most accomplished work, both on the script level and technically as well, sees perhaps Kanan Devi’s best ever performance, and was a huge triumph in both Hindi and Bengali. Its success got Chhaya Devi National recognition as well.

Chhaya Devi’s early films were often with director Jyotosh Banerjee. She was often teamed with the great Chhabi Biswas and went on to acquire an exceptionally  strong screen presence in films, notably those directed by Tapan Sinha – Nirjan Saikate (1963), Hatey Bazarey (1967) and in particular, Apanjan (1968), where she brilliantly played the role of the old woman who ‘adopts’ a group of lumpen youth sensing the emotional vulnerability beneath their violent reduction of democracy to a series of gang wars. Meena Kumari enacted the same role in Gulzar’s remake of the film, Mere Apne (1971) and great though she was, the purists still swear by Chhaya Devi’s performance in the original. Chhaya Devi also played key roles in early Mrinal Sen films like Raat Bhore (1956) and Abasheshe (1962).

Some of her other prominent films include Abhinetri (Bengali)/Haar Jeet (Hindi) (1940), Samadhan (1943), Era Bator Sur (1955) in Assamese that was also Bhupen Hazarika’s directorial debut, Saptapadi (1961), Saat Pake Bandha (1963), the original of Kora Kagaz (1974), where she excelled in the role of Suchitra Sen’s snobbish and domineering mother who destroys her daughter’s marriage to a university professor, Uttar Falguni (1963), Arohi (1964), Antony Firingee (1967), Arundathi Devi’s Padi Pishir Barmi Baksha (1972), an adaptation of Leela Majumdar’s classic children novel where she played the young hero, Khokka’s famed aunt Padipishi (Her exploits, shown in flashback, were shot in colour while the rest of the film was in black and white), the Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha starrer Alaap (1977) and Rang Birangi (1983).

Apart from films, Chhaya Devi has also sung on All India Radio. She passed away in Kolkata on April 27, 2001.
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7.  Chhaya Devi : Seven unforgettable films :

Chhaya Devi – one of the greatest actresses to have ever graced the cinema screen. At a time when women were few in acting, this lady dedicated herself wholeheartedly to the art of cinema and music.

Quite less is known of Chhaya Devi about her early life. She was born in 1914. In her early years of marriage, she suffered domestic violence from her husband who was the head master at the Zila School in Ranchi. In an effort to escape the torture and lead a more independent life, she came to Kolkata. She made her debut in Debaki Bose’s Sonar Sansar in 1936.

Chhaya Devi was a woman of steel. Not only did she gain mastery over acting but she also practiced her singing skills. A lone and independent woman, her strong spirit gets reflected in her roles. As a pure and independent personality, she acted in hundreds of films in various languages. She stayed active for over five decades, singing and acting.

A master like no other, here is a humble effort to celebrate her ten best roles. Out of the hundreds of films where each act is perfection, it is truly not possible to say these are only her best. In other words, here are ten roles of Chhaya Devi which we like the most.
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1. Bidyapati :

Bidyapati is the touching tale of Shiva Singha and his wife Laxmi, the ruling couple of Mithila. Bidyapati is a poet in the king’s court and Queen Laxmi starts to fall for him.

Released in 1937 it was Bidyapati that put Chhaya Devi to the focus. This super hit film was full of stars like Pahadi Sanyal, Kanan Devi, Gurudas Banerjee and Prithviraj Kapoor (in the Hindi version) but it was Chhaya Devi’s role as queen Laxmi that stole the show.

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2. Nirjan Saikate :

A writer has taken the train to Puri to spend a few days away from Kolkata. On the train, fate acquaints him with four widows (Chhaya Devi, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Renuka Devi, Bharati Devi). They are accompanying their niece (Sharmila Tagore) so that she can spend a few days by the shore and get over her lost love.

An excellent story and film, Nirjan Saikate is a film that stays in one’s memory. Tapan Sinha made an outstanding film out of Samaresh Basu’s story. Equally appreciable was Chhaya Devi as Sejdi.

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3. Antony Firingee :

One of the most memorable films of Bengali cinema, Chhaya Devi played the role of the mother to Hensman Antony (Uttam Kumar). Needless to say, the mother son duo of Chhaya Devi and Uttam Kumar in Bengali films is one of the best on screen.

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4. Saat Pake Bandha :

Quite different than the affectionate mother roles to Uttam Kumar, her role in Saat Pake Bandha hits us hard. She is hard, indifferent and heartless in her role as Suchitra Sen’s mother opposing her marriage to Soumitra. Chhaya Devi’s negative role to destroy her daughter’s marriage is one of her most watchable screen performances ever.

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5. Apanjan :

Some call Apanjan the zenith of Chhaya Devi’s acting prowess. This 1968 Tapan Sinha film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film.

Apanjan is the story of Anandamoyee, a widow played by Chhaya Devi. A sad marriage and then a widow without any children, she is left alone when a couple claiming to be relatives take her to Kolkata. She is tricked to be a payless maid. Anandamoyee instead settles in a slum and finds meaning to her life there. She starts to nurture two kids that are left without care for in the midst of the chaos of the city.

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6. Atal Jwaler Ahaban :

This time Chhaya Devi won our hearts as the mother figure to Soumitra Chatterjee in this film. Chhabi Biswas played the role of the father. A beautiful film with memorable songs, Atal Jwaler Ahwan is a must watch. The film was directed by Ajay Kar and was released in 1962.

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7. Podi Pishir Barmi Baksha :

Arundhati Devi directed Podi Pishir Barmi Baksha based on Leela Majumdar’s famous story. One of the most entertaining and memorable acts of Chhaya Devi, it is however difficult to find the copy of the film now. Chhaya Devi was the brave, funny and intelligent Podi Pisi, just like herself in real life.

THE END.

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