New Delhi. Uma Dasgupta, the stunning ‘Durga’ of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ is no more. He breathed his last on 18 November in Kolkata. She fought a battle with cancer for years which she ultimately lost. Uma Dasgupta was a big name of Bengal cinema. His demise at the age of 84 left everyone disappointed. ‘Pather Panchali’, released 69 years ago, is still discussed a lot. The film has been given a rating of 8.2 out of 10 in IMBD. Do you know how ‘Durga’ i.e. Uma Dasgupta was selected for this film and why she said goodbye to the world of cinema after creating history.
Uma Dasgupta, who surprised generations of cinema lovers, was noticed by Satyajit Ray during her stage performance as a child artiste in a school function. The headmaster of his school was a friend of director Satyajit Ray. After this the director contacted his school and family. But the family did not want the daughter to pursue a career in acting. Uma Dasgupta’s father, who came from a simple family, wanted her to stay away from this world full of glitz, but later he said yes.
Satyajit used to praise Uma’s intelligence
Satyajit Ray signed Uma Dasgupta, but she decided not to act in any other film. According to an Indian Express report, Satyajit Ray’s son
Sandeep Ray told that his father always appreciated Uma’s natural ability as an actor. He recalled that I was too young to remember the shooting, but later my father talked about Uma Di’s intelligence.
‘Didi’ could easily understand the complexities of the scene.
Sandeep claimed that it was very easy to work with him. She was a natural and could understand the complexities of a scene very easily. She decided to stay away from cinema for her own reasons, but she will still remain one of the most iconic actors of world cinema because of that one performance.
The industry is in mourning due to the demise of Uma Dasgupta. Photo courtesy-@IMDb
Why didn’t you act in any other film?
Why did he decide not to act in any other film again? On this issue, Subir Banerjee said, he did not act in any other film after ‘Pather Panchali’, says there are many reasons for this. He said- We knew that we would not be a part of this magical thing again. That was awareness. We have discussed this many times later. But at that time, for most middle-class Bengalis, the film industry was not a very good place. Even my parents were not happy with my acting in Pather Panchali, Uma di’s father was very strict. He did not want a film career for her at all.
Uma Dasgupta was very kind
Remembering Uma Dasgupta, Subir Banerjee said- ‘She was very kind. ‘Pather Panchali’ was his first film. But I depended on him for guidance. I remember in a rain sequence, where he was supposed to die at the end, we were asked to sit under a berry tree for the whole day. We were waiting for the rain to come. Kakababu (Satyajit Ray) made us sit there for hours. We had no other way than to entertain ourselves. So we were playing word games. They were teasing each other. Then when the rains came we were shivering. He held me tightly just like it should have happened in the film.
Tags: Entertainment Special
FIRST PUBLISHED: November 19, 2024, 10:53 IST
