Described as ‘Mahanayika’ (great actress), Suchitra Sen had bewitched generations of film buffs with her grace and beauty. Today marks the 85th birth anniversary of the legendary actress.

Born Rama Dasgupta in 1931, in Pabna, she delved into the silver screen, taking the non de plume Suchitra in 1952 with ‘Sesh Kothai’.

In a career spanning 25 years, Suchitra paired with Bengal’s biggest matinee idol Uttam Kumar to usher in the golden era of Bengali cinema, and came up with memorable performances in a number of cult Hindi movies like ‘Devdas’, ‘Mamta’, ‘Musafir’, ‘Bambai ka Babu’ and ‘Aandhi’.

Banerjee was a frequent visitor to the hospital where Suchitra was admitted in her last days. Having shunned public figures for over three decades, she made a rare exception for Banerjee during the last few days of her stay in the nursing home.

The 82-year-old actress died at a south Kolkata nursing home on 17 January 2014 following a massive cardiac arrest.

She left behind a legacy with actress-daughter Moon Moon Sen (also a member of parliament) and grand-daughters Riya and Raima Sen.

In 2012, the Bengal government conferred its highest award ‘Banga Bibhushan’ on the actress in absentia.