Remembering Uma Dasgupta: Satyajit Ray¡¯s ¡®Durga¡¯ and Apu¡¯s ¡®Didi¡¯ whose death feels personal to Bengali cinema
Bengali actress Uma Dasgupta best known for playing Durga in Satyajit Ray¡¯s film Pather Panchali has dropped her curtains. The 84-year-old passed away on November 18 after her long battle with cancer. It was exactly seven decades ago when at the age of 14 she starred in the cinematic adaptation of Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay's novel and made her character of Apu¡¯s Didi immortal.
Many don¡¯t know but Uma was discovered by Satyajit Ray during one of her school functions and guess what, that one film changed her fate overnight. It was brave of her to have not used her fame for more work in the industry but she simply slipped off and pursued a passion that she inherited since childhood - to become a teacher.
Other than Pather Panchali (1955), Dasgupta starred in just two projects that too quite late in life. Those were Apur Panchali (2013) and Lokkhi Chele (2022). Despite such a small stint, why does her passing away feel personal?
Uma Dasgupta: The soul of Bengali cinema
Uma¡¯s death feels like the closing of a chapter too precious to forget because that one film - Pather Panchali - made her an inspiration to many aspiring actors. The movie is taught widely across film schools as a pioneer in cinema and she is one of the chapters in it. Her singular movie impact was heavier than some people¡¯s decade-old career. That was the power of art and the artist Uma Dasgupta.
Uma¡¯s face in that film, often filled with worry and hope, spoke to something much deeper than words. Through her eyes, the audience witnessed the suffering of rural Bengal, the weight of poverty, and the strength of a woman clinging to dignity in a world that offered little.
Why does Uma Dasgupta¡¯s loss feel personal to Bengali cinema?
Uma¡¯s death feels personal to those who have loved Bengali cinema. To the fans, she wasn¡¯t just an actress; she was an integral part of a movement that reshaped Indian cinema. She represented a time when cinema was more than just entertainment¡ªit was an exploration of the human soul. For the Bengali audience, her passing is similar to the loss of a piece of their own cultural fabric.
She wasn¡¯t just a part of the Bengali cinema community; she was one of its foundations and her legacy is built into the very DNA of the industry. It is carried forward by every actor, director, and filmmaker who strives to create films with the same sensitivity, depth, and soul that Uma brought in her work. Hope Uma Dasgupta rests in paradise with all our love - ?mar¨¡ t¨m¨¡k¨¥ misa karabo didi!
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