Sumita Sanyal (9 October 1945 – 9 July 2017) was an Indian actress who is known for her work in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and

Hindi cinema 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 ...

. She made her debut opposite

Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as Mahanayak (), was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema ...

in Bibhuti Laha's '' Khokababur Pratyabartan'' (1960). She subsequently appeared in a series of Bengali films in the 1960s and 1970s. She also enacted a cameo role in The Peacock Spring (1996) which was a BBC Production.

Early life

She was born Manjula Sanyal in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Her father was Girija Golkunda Sanyal.

Career

Director Bibhuti Laha (of

Agradoot Agradoot () was a group of Indian film technicians signing collectively as director, a phenomenon unique to Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. The Agradoot core unit, formed in 1946, consisted initially of Bibhuti Laha (cameraman, 1915–1 ...

) named her Suchorita for his film '' Khokababur Pratyabartan''. After that, director Kanak Mukhopadhay decided to make it shorter into Sumita. Famous actress Lila Desai was very much known to Sumita. Lila introduced her to Agradoot. After she got a chance in ''Khokababur Pratyabartan'', she acted in more than 40 films in Bengali, including ''Sagina Mahato'', opposite

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

and in the lead role in ''

Kuheli ''Kuheli'' (''Bengali'': কুহেলী) is a 1971 Bengali suspense thriller movie directed by Tarun Majumdar. The film stars Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Sumita Sanyal, Debashree Roy, Chhaya Devi, Ajitesh Bandopadhyay, Satya Bandyopa ...

'', alongside Biswajit and

Sandhya Roy Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she reigned as a leading actress for approximately 30 years. She has received numerous awards including four BFJA Awards and a Filmfare A ...

. She also has acted in a number of Hindi films, the most notable of which was ''

Anand Anand may refer to: People * Anand (name), a surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Anand (clan), a clan of an Indian caste * Anand (actor), Indian actor * Anand (Maoist), Indian communist * Anand (writer) (born 1936 ...

'' in 1970, opposite

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

. She also acted in television serials, on professional stage and in group theatre with the notable association being "Ranga Sabha". She was a part of many of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films like Guddi, Anand and Aashirwad.

Personal life

She was married to film editor Subodh Roy. They have a son.

Filmography

Bengali films

Hindi films

References

External links

* * 1945 births 2017 deaths Indian film actresses University of Calcutta alumni Bengali actresses People from Darjeeling Actresses from West Bengal 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema {{India-film-bio-stub