Arundhati Devi

Arundhati Devi (; also known as Arundhati Mukherjee or Mukhopadhyay; 29 April 1924 – 16 October 1990) was an Indian actress, director, writer and singer who is predominantly known for her work in Bengali cinema.

Arundhati Devi was a student of Visva-Bharati University where she was trained in Rabindra Sangeet by Sailajaranjan Majumdar. She began her career as a Rabindra Sangeet singer at All India Radio in 1940. As an actress, Arundhati Devi made her film debut in Kartik Chattopadhyay's Bengali film Mahaprasthaner Pathe (1952) which also had a Hindi version titled Yatrik. She later collaborated with directors such as Devaki Kumar Bose in Nabajanma (1956), Asit Sen in Chalachal (1956) and Panchatapa (1957), Prabhat Mukhopadhyay in Maa (1956), Mamata (1957), Bicharak (1959) and Akashpatal (1960), and Tapan Sinha in Kalamati (1958), Jhinder Bondi (1961), and Jatugriha (1964). In 1963, she was conferred with BFJA Award for Best Actress for her role in the National Award winning Bengali film Bhagini Nivedita (1962) directed by Bijoy Bose. In 1967, she was conferred with the National Film Award for Best Film Based On High Literary Work for her directorial debut Chutti at the 14th National Film Awards.

Personal life Arundhati was born in Barisal, Bengal Presidency, in British India (now Bangladesh). In 1955 she had a short-lived marriage with the director Prabhat Mukherjee. However, in 1957 she met film director Tapan Sinha at the Berlin International Film Festival and they eventually got married. Their son is the primatologist Anindya Sinha. She died on 16 October 1990.

Filmography

As actress 1976 Harmonium 1965 Surer Agun 1964 Jatugriha as Madhuri 1963 Nyayadanda 1962 Shiulibari 1962 Bhagini Nivedita as Sister Nivedita 1961 Jhinder Bondi 1960 Khudita Pashan 1960 Indradhanu 1960 Akash-Patal 1959 Bicharak (she became a Producer) 1959 Shashi Babur Sansar 1959 Pushpadhanu 1958 Kala Mati 1958 Shikar 1958 Manmoyee Girls' School as Niharika 1957 Panchatapa 1956 Chalachal 1956 Nabajanma 1955 Dashyumohan as Chapala alias Miss Sandhya Ray 1955 Du-janay 1955 Godhuli 1954 Chheley Kaar as Mili 1954 Nad-o-Nadi 1952 Mahaprasthaner Pathey as Rani 1952 Yatrik as Rani (the Hindi Version of the well-known Bengali film Maha Prasthaner Pathe, in which she played the same role of Rani)

As director 1985 Gokul 1983 Deepar Prem 1972 Padi Pishir Barmi Baksha 1969 Megh o Roudra 1967 Chhuti (also script writer and music composer)