Actress Sudipta Chakraborty felicitated at documentary screening on Women's Day

National Award-winning actress Sudipta Chakraborty was felicitated at an event organized by the Film Division of India on International Women’s Day.

Reputed danseuse, theatre personality and Natyashastra scholar Sohini Roychowdhury was also honoured at the event, which saw the screening of the documentaries Nargis, And They Made Classics and The Last Adieu.

The films, which are based on the legendary actress Nargis, author and screenwriter Nabendu Ghosh and short film director S Sukhdev were made by the subjects' respective daughters, Priya Dutt, Ratnottama Sengupta and Shabnam Sukhdev.

Chakraborty told the Calcutta Times, a supplement of the English daily The Times of India that it was a great honour. The actress said that she and her sister Bidipta have tried to take forward the acting legacy of their father, noted Bengali theatre personality Biplab Ketan Chakraborty. "Bidisha, my other sister, has taken forward dance which my mother is known for. This programme was a unique way to celebrate women as daughters,” she said.

Sumay Mukherjee, head (east), Films Division, said the idea came from an oft-repeated Bengali phrase 'Ekdom chheler moton meye hoyeche onader'. This expression always bothered me. Why can't a daughter be enough being just a daughter! So, I thought of approaching these daughters who have taken forward their parents' works,” said

Speaking of her film, Sengupta said, “Strangely, I didn't cry when my father passed away. But within some time of his death, there was a programme arranged to memorialize Bimal Roy. Four of his films were screened. One was Bandini. Something in the father-daughter scene there moved me and I was left howling after the show ended. Since then, I have been thinking of making such a documentary. When Sumay approached, I agreed.”