Rituparna Sengupta, Chaiti Ghoshal and others remember Sreela Majumder

Sreela worked in a number of Mrinal Sen's films. She worked in the films by Shyam Benegal, Prakash Jha, and Utpalendu Chakraborty.

Sreela Majumder

Sreela Majumdar was only 16 when Mrinal Sen her a break in his film Parsuram. Ever since she has worked in films by an array of ace directors. Sreela breathed her last on January 27 after a long battle with cancer. On Friday, the eminent personalities of the Bengali film industry and Sreela’s close ones paid tribute to the actress in Nandan. Cinematheque hosted the meeting.

Also read: Bengali actress Sreela Majumder, the voice behind Aishwarya Rai in Chokher Bali, passes away

Sreela worked in a number of Mrinal Sen's films. She worked in the films by Shyam Benegal, Prakash Jha, and Utpalendu Chakraborty. But did the 65-year-old actress get due recognition? The speakers at today’s event somewhat regretted the fact that she did not. The multidimensional aspect of her artistic soul was also discussed. Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee talked about her contributions to radio drama. Director Reshmi Mitra talked about Sreela's passion for acting. She said, “Sreela always asked me to keep a scene for her in my films. There were only two scenes in my film Baranda. But she did not hesitate to act.” Reshmi said that in the biopic of Sisir Kumar Bhadury, named Borobabu, Sreela wanted to work in the film. “But I did not want to take the risk considering her health at that time. But she conducted regular workshops at my request and came to see the shooting.” Reshmi wished to make a documentary on Sreela Majumdar.

Actress Chaiti Ghosal, in her talk, stressed celebrating Sreela's life instead of remembering her. Chaiti recently started shooting her directorial venture Nevermind. She regretted, “There was a role for Sreeladi in the film. She was never satisfied with her performance. And that dissatisfaction will be my inspiration in the future.”

Rituparna Sengupta talked about her long relationship with Sreela. “Sreeladi could easily mix up with people of any age and could understand them. Hence, everyone got more opportunities to learn from her in the workshops.” Rituparna agreed that Sreela deserved more from the industry. “The day before yesterday, Nandita Das messaged me that Sreela Majumdar did not get what she deserved.” She said that fans should remember Sreela through her films. After the event, the film Akaler Sandhane, starring Sreela Majumdar and directed by Mrinal Sen, was screened. Sreela Majumder’s husband S N M Abdi and son Sohel Abdi were present.

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