Gita Dey (, 5 August 1931 – 17 January 2011) was an Indian actress in Bengali cinema, theatre and Bengali folk theater. She became a stage artist at the age of 6 years. She came to the film industry in 1943. Her first film release was ''

Ahuti Ahuti Prasad (born Adusumilli Janardhan Vara Prasad; 2 January 1958 – 4 January 2015) was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu cinema, Telugu film industry. He was renowned for the wide variety of roles he played, including father-figure, com ...

'' (1941) as a child actress. She acted in over 200

Bengali-language Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is native to the Bengal region (Bangladesh, India's West Bengal and Tripura) of South ...

films and over 2,000 stage shows. She acted in the movie ''

Teen Kanya ''Teen Kanya'' () is a 1961 Indian Bengali-language anthology film directed by Satyajit Ray, and based upon short stories by Rabindranath Tagore. The film's original Indian release contained three stories. The international release of the film ...

'' by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

and Rittik Ghatak's '' Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha,

Komal Gandhar ''Komal Gandhar'' ( ''Kōmal Gāndhār''), also known as ''A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale'', is a 1961 Bengali film written and directed by legendary film maker Ritwik Ghatak. The title refers to the Hindustani equivalent of " E-flat". It was pa ...

, and Kato Ajanare''. She also acted in Hindi movies such as '' Parineeta'' (2005) with

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

and

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi films. Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 160 films. ...

and other movies. She was associated with

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

for a long time doing Shruti Natok. She received the Presidential Award for Lifetime Achievement from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and many other awards during her lifetime.

Early life

She started as an actress in the

Bengali film industry Cinema of West Bengal, also known as Tollywood or Bengali cinema, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Bengali language widely spoken in the state of West Bengal. It is based in the Tollygun ...

based in Kolkata's

Tollygunge Tollygunge (; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is known for being the center of Indian Bengali-language cinema, with filming locations used for other regional Indian films. G ...

since 1938. Her first role was as a child artiste when she was six years old in Ahutee directed by

Dhiren Ganguly Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...

.Thespian Gita Dey dies at 79

Later career

She has been associated with

since 1954, and enacted character roles in radio plays. However, her last play was ''Badsahi Chaal'' (1996), which was directed by Ganesh Mukherjee, and was staged at the Rangana theatre in North Kolkata. She acted diverse roles in a wide variety of films, and is known for her versatile outlook in her many roles. Her acting even caught the attention of the legendary

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. Proficient in both negative and comic roles, Dey was brilliant in the role of torn and scheming mother in

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during hi ...

's '' Meghe Dhaka Tara''. Throughout her long career, she worked with directors like

Sisir Bhaduri Shishir Kumar Bhaduri or Sisir Kumar Bhaduri (2 October 1889 – 30 June 1959) was an Indian stage actor and theatre founder, commonly referred to as the pioneer of modern Bengali theatre. He was an actor, director, playwright and scenic desig ...

Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...

and

. She also acted in a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

musical based on

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicised as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and socie ...

's '' Parineeta'', starring

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. The titular head of the Pataudi family since 2011, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore a ...

and

. Though ailing, she went on acting and won applause in recent films like ''

Tolly Lights ''Tolly Lights'' ( "Tolly Lights") is a 2008 Bengali-language Indian film directed by Arjun Chakraborty and starring Sreelekha Mitra, Abhishek Chatterjee, Priyadarshini Chatterjee and Arjun Chakraborty. It is based on the novel ''Rangeen Prith ...

'' and ''

Chirodini Tumi Je Amar ''Chirodini ... Tumi Je Amar'' (English: ''You Are Mine Eternally''), also known by the initialism ''CTJA'' is a 2008 Indian Bengali language romantic drama film written and directed by Raj Chakraborty, making his directional debut and produced ...

''. Dey died on 17 January 2011 in Kolkata, aged 79.

Filmography

*'' Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)'' *''

(1961)'' *''Dampati'' *''

Indrani Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī''), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and kind, ...

(1958)'' *''Nauka Dubi'' *'' Malyadan'' (1971) *''Abhaya o Srikanta'' *''Komol Gandher (1961)'' *''Abhaya o Srikanta'' *''Dainee (1961)'' *''Kathin Maya (1961)'' *''Kanchanmulya (1961)'' *''Sathi Hara (1961)'' *''Kancher Swarga (1962)'' *''Shubba Drishti (1962)'' *''Bandhan (1962)'' *''

Saat Paake Bandha ''Saat Paake Bandha'' is a 2009 Indian Bengali-language romantic drama film directed by Sujit Mondal. The film starred Jeet and Koel Mallick, who also featured in ''Ghatak'' in 2006. The movie is a remake of 1996 Telugu film ''Pavitra Bandham''. ...

(1963)'' *''Dui Bari (1963)'' *''Chhaya Surya (1963)'' *''Nishipadma'' *''Sesh Porjonto (1969)'' *''

Bagh Bondi Khela ''Bagh Bondi Khela'' () is a 1975 Indian Bengali-language political action thriller film co-written and directed by Pijush Basu. Produced by Ashima Bhattacharya, the film is based on Prafulla Roy's novel titled ''Prothom Tarar Alo''. It stars ...

(1975)'' *''

Datta (film) Datta may refer to: * Dutta (surname), an Indian family name found among Bengali and Punjabi Hindus * Dattatreya, a Hindu deity * Datta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Union Council of Mansehra District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa * Data, Hisar or Datta, a villa ...

'' (1976) *'' Surya Sakhi (1981)'' *''Dui Bhai'' *''Ahoban'' *''Barnochora'' *''Pita Putro'' *''

Mouchak ''Mouchak'' is a Bengali romantic comedy film directed by Arabinda Mukhopadhyay. The film stars Uttam Kumar, Sabitri Chatterjee, Ranjit Mullick, Mithu Mukherjee, Sulata Choudhury, Ratna Ghoshal, and Nripati Chattopadhyay in lead roles. Nachik ...

'' *'' Hirer Shikal (1988)'' *''

Mahaprithibi ''Mahaprithibi'' (World Within, World Without) is a 1991 Bengali social drama film directed by Mrinal Sen. The film was released under the banner of G. G. Films and received BFJA Awards in 1992. Plot The film revolves around the global changin ...

'' (1991) *''

'' *'' Santan'' (1999) *''

'' * ''

Kathavasheshan ''Kadhavaseshan'' () is a 2004 Malayalam Mystery film, mystery drama film written and directed by T. V. Chandran, starring Dileep (actor), Dileep and Jyothirmayi in the lead roles. Veteran Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali actress Gita Dey made a s ...

'' (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

) * '' Parineeta''

Awards

For her lifetime contributions to Bengali cinema, in 1998 she received a star medal from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

from the then

Governor of West Bengal The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of the Indian state of West Bengal. The governor is appointed by the president of India. C. V. Ananda Bose is the incumbent governor, having taken office on 18 November 2022. History In 1911 the ...

Saiyid Nurul Hasan Saiyid Nurul Hasan FRHistS, FRAS (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the Government of India. A member of the Rajya Sabha, he was the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of ...

. She also got the presidential award for lifetime contribution to Bengali cinema and theater.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dey, Gita 1931 births 2011 deaths Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Indian stage actresses Actresses from Kolkata Bengali television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award