Bengal Stage Legend Sova Sen Passes Away at 93
She acted in a number of iconic plays as well as a handful films. She was married to Utpal Dutt.
Sova Sen, a legendary figure of the Bengali stage, died in Kolkata on Sunday following old age complications, her family said.
Sen, 93, the widow of thespian Utpal Dutt, left behind her daughter.
During a long career on the stage, she acted in iconic plays like Nabanna (1944), based on the Great Bengal famine where she played the female lead role, and Kallol (1965), set in the backdrop of the 1946 naval mutiny.
Graduating from Bethune College, Sen joined Gananatya Sangha and acted in the lead female role of Nabanna. She joined Dutt's Little Theatre Group (LTG) in 1953-54 and got married to him in 1960.
The LTG later became Peoples' Theatre Group. She acted in most of its productions including Barricade, Tiner Talowar and Titumir.
Sen also acted in a number of films including Mrinal Sen's Ek Adhuri Kahani and Ek Din Pratidin, and the Gautam Ghose-directed Dekha and Dutt's Jhar and Baisakhi Megh.
In 1983, she played a crucial role in Basu Chatterjee's Hindi movie Pasand Apni Apni.
Her last screen appearance was in Shadows of Time - a Bengali feature film by German director Florian Gallenberger.
On 10 April, 2010, Sen received the Mother Teresa International Award.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled Sen's demise.
"Saddened at the passing of veteran theatre artiste Sobha Sen. My condolences to her family and friends," Banerjee tweeted.
Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra called Sen a legendary figure of Bengal's theatre movement.
"Comrade Sova Sen will remain as the inspiration of people's voice. My sincerest condolence," said Mishra.
(Love your mother tongue? This Independence Day, tell The Quint why and how you love your bhasha. You may even win a BOL t-shirt! Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)