Debashree Roy

Profusion of roles (1976—2007)

Following the success of Kuheli (1971), Tarun Majumdar gave his word that he would introduce Roy as a leading actress when she hit her teens. Hence Arati Roy, her mother refused to let Roy play any other supporting roles in order to retain her daughter's exclusivity. After she appeared for a look test, Majumdar changed his mind considering her imperfect for this role and she got replaced by Rajni Sharma. An upset Roy, then accepted a role in Sushil Mukherjee's Bengali drama Sudur Niharika (1976) where she was credited as "Rumki Roy". She, then featured in Kushali Goshthi's Aguner Phulki (1978) alongside veterans like Anil Chatterjee and Sabitri Chatterjee. During this time Arabinda Mukhopadhyay was looking for a young actress for the female lead opposite Mithun Chakraborty in Nadi Theke Sagare (1978). Sandhya Roy who played the other female lead in the film suggested the director to cast Roy in the lead opposite Chakraborty. As described by the director, the film narrates the ebb and flow of the life of two unfathered individuals played by Roy and Chakraborty. Roy played Champa, the unfathered daughter to Sandhya Roy. Upon its release, the film received favourable review. Roy was critically appreciated for her gaze in the film. She had to enact the adolescence as well as the adulthood of the character she was given. The film was a major success at box office. The film won critical favour but failed to create any ripple at box office. She acted opposite Prem Nazir in N. Sankaran Nair's Malayalam film Ee Ganam Marakkumo (1978) where she was credited as "Rugmini Roy". The film was a major failure at box office.

She, then featured in Nirmal Sarbanga's road film G. T. Road (1980). The film did not perform well at box office. During this time Tarun Majumdar came up with the offer for his romantic drama film Dadar Kirti (1980) and suggested to change her name into "Debashree Roy". Her mother never objected to it. She was cast alongside Sandhya Roy, Kali Banerjee, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Tapas Paul and Mahua Roychoudhury in the film. She portrayed the character of Bini, the innocent sibling of Saraswati portrayed by Mahua Roychoudhury. The film became a remarkable box office success and her role and vibrant appearance was loved by the audience, alongside the reverse and solemn appearance of Mahua Roychoudhury.

She was again cast in the role of the chirpy sibling of Mahua Roychoudhury in Manu Sen's blockbuster Bengali film Subarnagolak (1981). She featured in Dilip Mukherjee's Bengali film Father (1981) alongside Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick, Haradhan Banerjee, Sumitra Mukherjee, Mithu Mukherjee and Mahua Roychoudhury. After Moon Moon Sen declined the role of Nandita, Aparna Sen proposed Roy to play the part in her directorial debut 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981). Nandita along with her boyfriend Samaresh exploits her former teacher's apartment for making love to each other. She was initially hesitant to do the love-making scene with Dhritiman Chatterjee who played Samaresh. The film was a major failure at box office, still Roy was applauded by media personalities due to her good looks and unlaboured screen presence. She, then appeared in Kanak Mishra's Hindi film Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981), under Rajshri Productions. She played Vidya, the love interest of Kundan played by Arun Govil. The film became a jubilee hit at box office. The next year, she appeared in Desh Gautam's Bura Aadmi (1980) which was a major box office debacle. In 1982, she appeared in Tarun Majumdar's Bengali film Meghmukti. The same year, she featured opposite Mithun Chakraborty in Goutam Mukherjee's love triangle Troyee which became a major success at box office. Aparupa, her another release of the same year was a flop at the box office.

Roy featured opposite Tapas Paul in Bijoy Bose's Bengali drama Samapti (1983). She featured in K. Raghavendra Rao's multistarrer Hindi film Justice Chaudhury (1983) alongside Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee, Sridevi and Raj Kiran. The film was a major success at box office. In the film, Roy portrayed the character of Lali, a beautiful, conceited and pampered girl who insults her boyfriend Rajiv on the day of their engagement and discloses to everyone present at her engagement party that she has given consent to marry him because she wanted to avenge an earlier incident when he humiliated her in front of the public. She was paired with Shashi Puri in this film. She then, featured in Dipranjan Bose's Bengali drama film Parabat Priya (1984), alongside Tapas Paul and Mahua Roychoudhury. The film was a major success at the box office. She played the character of Piyali, a highly pampered girl who decides to poison a glass of milk that her husband was supposed to take.

In 1985, she was paired with Sandeep Patil in Kabhi Ajnabi The (1985), directed and produced by Vijay Singh. She played the character of Geeta, who decides to sacrifice her love for the sake another woman who had previously been her boyfriend's ladylove. The film was over-hyped regarding the Bollywood debut of Sandeep Patil and Roy's sensuous enacting with him in the song sequence Geet Mere Hothon Ko De Gaya Koi. Filmfare wrote: "With those kohl eyes and her figure scantily covered with, she looked enthralling, yet she looked coy enough." Her performance in this film earned her the Calcutta and National Unity Award for Best Supporting Actress in Hindi Cinema. The film theatrically opened with 80% seat occupancy, but ultimately proved itself to be a major commercial failure due to its poor screenplay. In 1985, she was cast opposite Tapas Paul in Tarun Majumdar's romantic drama Bhalobasa Bhalobasa. This film established Roy's pairing with Tapas Paul as the leading on-screen pairing of the nineteen eighties.

Roy also delivered hits with Prosenjit Chatterjee and Chiranjeet Chakraborty. She was paired with Chiranjeet Chakraborty for the first time in Madhumoy (1986), which also stars Prosenjit Chatterjee and Mahua Roychoudhury. Her pairing with Chakraborty conveyed major hits such as Mouna Mukhar (1987), Heerer Shikal (1988), Papi (1990), Tomar Rakte Amar Sohag (1993), Bhoy (1996), Beyadap (1996), Jiban Jouban (1997), Joddha (1987) and Debanjali (2000).

In 1988, she appeared as Satyavati in B.R.Chopra's Mahabharat.

In 1987, she was paired with Prosenjit Chatterjee in Bimal Ray's Samrat O Sundari. The film was a hit and gave acknowledgement to Roy's pairing with Prosenjit Chatterjee as a bankable one. Her other hits with Chatterjee are Ora Charjon (1988), Jhankar (1989), Ahankar (1991), Raktelekha (1992), Purushottam (1992), Rakter Swad (1993), Shraddhanjali (1993) and Nati Binodini (1994). Srikanta Guhathakurata's Ahankar (1991) opened with 90% seat occupancy and grossed more than at the box office. Roy further received critical acclaim in her role in the Drama Anutap (1992) which was directed by Prabhat Roy as well as rave reviews for her performance in Thikana for which she won her first BFJA Award for Best Actress . She featured in Rakte Lekha (1992) where the number Ami Kolkatar Rosogolla became very popular. Following the success of the film, she earned the sobriquet, Kolkatar rosogolla. Filmfare appreciated her performance. The film won her the National Film Award for Best Actress category. She also garnered critical acclaim for her roles in Sandhyatara (1994) and Cinemay Jeman Hoy (1994).

After Roy separated from Chatterjee, she refused to play any female lead opposite the actor. Chiranjeet Chakraborty chose her for the female lead of his directorial venture Bhoy (1996). The film is inspired by Sleeping with the Enemy (1991). In 1997, Roy had two releases opposite Chiranjeet Chakraborty Prabhat Roy's Jiban Jouban and Dulal Bhowmik's Yoddha both of which were commercially successful. She gave birth to speculation and controversy for her role as Tishyarakshita in Nitish Roy's Samarpan aired on Zee Tv.

She appeared in Subrata Sen's Ek Je Achhe Kanya (2001), which was major commercial success. In 2002, she appeared in Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's much acclaimed film Shilpantar. She played the character of a woman who works in a circus and draws masses by her act of eating raw live snakes or hens. In the same year, she played the character of Kadambari Devi in Sukanta Ray's film Chhelebela, alongside Jisshu Sengupta playing Rabindranath Tagore.

Shantimoy Bandopadhyay chose Roy to play the title role in Mejdidi (2003) based on Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's story of the same name. She portrayed Hemangini, who shelters an orphan who is severely exploited by his stepsister. The film endorsed altruism. The film failed to receive favourable reviews from critics but performed well at the box office. where she played the protagonist Nandita, who donates her blood for a man who raped her earlier.

Roy featured as the titular protagonist in Bratya Basu's Teesta (2005). It is inspired by Basu's play Mukhomukhi Bosibar. She portrayed Teesta who fails to communicate with the world of people and finds solace in nature. Though the film became a critical and commercial failure, she won critical favour for her performance. It earns her Anandalok Award for Best Actress in 2005. She had a series of flops such as Satabdir Golpo (2004), Sagar Kinare (2004), Ami Je Ke Tomar (2004) and Teesta (2005). She featured opposite Mithun Chakrabarty in Ravi Kinagi's Yuddho (2005). The film was released with 41 prints across West Bengal. It grossed 1.2 crore in the first week and grossed 3 crore overall. She featured in Je Jon Thake Majhkhane (2006).

She made her small screen debut in Soumitra Chatterjee starrer Bengali tv series Dena Paona.

Roy choreographed most of her dance numbers in Bengali films. Her dance to the popular song Ami Kolkatar Rosogolla from Raktelekha (1992) was accredited as the biggest factor for the film achieving an enormous success at box office. from Chokher Aloy (1989), Baje Dhol Tak Dhina Dhin from Aakrosh (1989) and Bajlo Je Ghungru from Jhankar (1989).

Setback (2008–2011) From 2008, Roy made some impolitic choices of selecting films that did not equalise her stature and led her career into a major setback. She featured in Nilanjan Bhattacharya's directorial debut Lal Ronger Duniya (2008) where she played Dalia Karmakar, a former sex worker who tries save the women who are entangled in their lives of prostitution. The film is based on Lal Ronger Prithibi, a Bengali novel by Rupak Saha. It emerged as a major critical and commercial failure. The Telegraph stated that the film failed to stand up for too many characters. The dialogues never won any critical favour as well. Roy was appreciated for her performance. The Indian Express wrote, "Debasree Roy as Dalia gives one of her best performances in recent times". The film became a box office debacle. She was appreciated for her performance in Goutam Sen's Bengali feature film Pakhi (2009). The Times of India wrote, "Debasree Roy gives a stellar performance with her act of a blind girl." The Telegraph wrote, "Debasree stands out as a sensitive, vulnerable woman who secretly nurses a sense of betrayal." The film failed to create any ripples at the box office. She featured in Rahasya — The Bhoutik. The film was a major critical failure.

She featured in Suhasish Mukherjee's drama Antarbas (2010). The film was both critically and commercially unsuccessful. She also featured in Gaurav Pandey's Shukno Lanka (2010) which was a critical and commercial success. She portrayed the character of a loving woman whose husband is indifferent to her. The film was publicised on her dance to the popular number Sundari Kamala. She featured in Thikana Rajpath (2010) directed by Kanoj Das. She played Padma who is insisted by Manisha played by Indrani Halder to surrogate for the latter but left in lurch when Manisha becomes pregnant. Roy's performance in the film was appreciated by critics. The film was a moderate grosser at box office.

In 2011, Roy had four releases Bhalo Meye Mondo Meye, Ei Aranya, Ekdin Thik and Jibon Rang Berang. She featured as Siddha in Nirmalya Banerjee's Ekdin Thik (2011). The film revolves around the protagonist Nikhilesh who gets to know that he has won a prestigious award not for the merit of his literary performance but his father's influence.

During an interview conducted by Ei Samay newspaper in May 2021, she was asked why she was missing from the silver screen even though a number of good films had been being made. She stated that she is not favourite of any producer or any director who prefers to cast in all his films some other actors who are his favourites.

Further Roles (2012–2017) She featured in Antare Bahire (2012), and Life in Park Street (2012). Both the films met debacle at box office.

In 2013, Roy featured in a role of a gynaecologist in Benoy Mittra's Antaraal. When Mittra narrated the plot to her, she loved the plot as well as her character. She was up on her feet regarding the promotion of the film. Her next turn was Ujjal Chatterjee's Swabhoomi (2013) which was based on Mahasweta Devi's novel Adhaba. She portrayed Saraswati whose husband goes missing. The film turned out to be a major critical as well as commercial failure. Her two other releases of that year were Sukanta Roy's Jakhan Esechhilem (2013) and Ashis Roy's Lattoo (2013) both of which became major critical as well as commercial failures.

After a brief hiatus Roy accepted a role in Reshmi Mitra's Indo-Bangladesh collaboration Hothat Dekha (2017). She had to share her screen with Ilias Kanchan who she described as a delight to work with. Based on the poem of the same name by Tagore, the film narrates the story of two estranged lovers who, coincidentally meet on a journey by a train after a long time. The film was shot in Chittagong.

Comeback (2021—present) She was slated to be seen in Anup Sengupta's new venture Tumi Ki Sei. But the film did not happen. In January 2021, there arises a speculation in media that she would feature opposite Prosenjit Chatterjee in a film by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. She later changed her mind and refused to star opposite Chatterjee. She portrays a woman who has sacrificed all her longing for the sake of her in-laws. She received backlash from a part of netizens who claimed that she had lost all her charm and splendour to portray a female lead. Once broadcast, the series grasped the 3rd position in TRP having attained 8.5 rating point. Though she faces strong rivalry from young actresses such as Soumitrisha Kundu, Shweta Bhattacharya and Susmita Dey, she manages to retain her position in the top ten bracket. In 5th week of 2022, the series lost its position in the top ten countdown. She gives her nod to Sourav Chakraborty's Bengali web series Chemistry Mashi. She portrays Sucharita Lahiri, a YouTuber who explains chemistry through cooking.

Dance career Roy's mother, initially, wanted Roy to become a dancer. She alongside her sister Tanushree Bhattacharya, made a career in dance at a very young age after she became popular for her role in Balak Gadadhar (1969). Barin Dhar, a famous impresario at that time named her "Rumki" and her sister Tanushree "Jhumki". She was trained in Odissi by Kelucharan Mohapatra. In 1991, she formed her troupe Natraj. The project was critically acclaimed in western media. It was regarded as a valuable workshop on south-eastern Asian culture by Pariscope. Bhashyo wrote: "She created a jugglery with those rapid change in posture and movement." Later on, she ventured into Fusion art and collaborated with Taaltantra in some of their tours. She has been acclaimed for her vigour while dancing and to sustain this she has always been careful enough regarding the selection of the colour for her costumes, which ranged from tint, tone and shade to exotic ones. She won against the CPI(M) candidate and former minister Kanti Ganguly from the Raidighi constituency.

On 15 March 2021, she quit TMC after being denied a ticket for the upcoming West Bengal legislative election.

Animal rights activity

Roy is the founder of Debasree Roy Foundation, an NGO which works for the welfare of the stray animals. It also organises vaccination camps in different locations of Kolkata. Eminent veterinary professionals are assigned to preside over these camps. She gave her backing to Humane Society International's campaign against testing cosmetics on animals.

Personal life In 1983, Roy met Sandeep Patil on the set of Kabhie Ajnabi The and reportedly an affair followed between her and the cricketer who was married at that time. She was rumoured to be the sole reason for the failure of Patil's first marriage. She claimed that she was a good friend to Patil and nothing beyond that. She filed a lawsuit against an article about her, published in the September 1983 edition of Stardust magazine since the article claimed that she was married to Patil.

In 1994, Roy married Prosenjit Chatterjee and they separated in 1995. "I don't know when and how Chumki (Debasree Roy) and I fell in love. Ma and Chumki's mom were best of friends and Chumki, Maku (Pallavi Chatterjee) and I were best buddies since childhood. Ma would always say that Chumki would be my wife one day. But I can vouch for the fact that not even for a day did Chumki and I go out or even watch a film together. We didn't date. Suddenly, one day, Chumki came to my flat and said, 'I want to marry you'. Huh! She said, 'I've left my house and you have to marry me, right now'. At that moment I felt like I was some Prithviraj Chauhan! On top of the world! I was a big star then and I agreed and we tied the knot. Everything was going fine and then one day Chumki left me."

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During an interview conducted by The Telegraph, Prosenjit Chatterjee said that Roy had been one of his close friends since childhood; he also said that it was actually Roy who proposed to get married and decided to separate. Roy claimed that Chatterjee was professionally jealous of her.

— Roy on her relationship with Prosenjit Chatterjee (in an interview conducted by The Telegraph)

In February 2021, she filed a defamation case at Alipore Court, against Sovan Chatterjee and Baishakhi Banerjee who claimed that Roy deceived the people of Raidighi constituency.

Awards and nominations

National Film Award 1995 Best Actress Unishe April Banga Bibhushan 2014 Contribution in Cinema Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards 1992 Best Actress Thikana Anandalok Puraskar 1999 Best Actress Daho 2000 Best Actress Asukh 2001 Best Supporting Actress Ek Je Ache Kanya 2005 Best Actress Teesta Kalakar Awards 1993 Best Actress Prem

Filmography

Discography