Veteran actress Swatilekha Sengupta dies at 71

Veteran theatre and film actress Swatilekha Sengupta died today after a prolonged battle with a kidney-related ailment. She was 71. The actress had been admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata 25 days ago and was undergoing dialysis. Her condition deteriorated this afternoon.

Known for her performance as the noblewoman Bimala in Satyajit Ray’s classic drama Ghare Baire (1985), Sengupta started her career as a theatre actress in Allahabad in the 1970s. She worked under theatre personality AC Banerjee and also received guidance from BV Karanth, Tapas Sen and Khaled Chowdhury.

Later, she moved to Kolkata and joined the theatre group Nandikar. She worked under Rudraprasad Sengupta and eventually married him.

Thirty years after she starred in Ghare Baire, Sengupta returned to the silver screen in  Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee's Bela Seshe.

Two of her projects, Bela Shuru and Dharmajuddha, are yet to be released.

Sengupta is survived by her husband and daughter Sohini Sengupta, who is one of the most prominent actresses of her generation.