Madhabi Mukherjee

2021-07-15T11:55:00Z

202.142.76.191:

{{short description|Indian actress}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Madhabi Mukherjee
| native_name =
| image = MadhabiMukherjee.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Mukherjee in 2018
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1942|02|10}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] <br/> (now [[Kolkata]], West Bengal, India)
| death_date =
| death_place =
| othername = Madhabi Chakraborty, Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, Madhuri
| yearsactive =
| spouse =
| website =
| notable_works = ''[[Charulata]]''
}}

'''Madhabi Chakraborty ''', '''née Mukherjee''', (born 10 February 1942) is an Indian actress. She won the [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] for her performance in the [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali]] film ''[[Dibratrir Kabya]]''.<ref name="dff17">{{Cite web |title=17th National Film Festival |url=https://dff.nic.in/Archive.aspx?ID=6 |access-date=15 February 2021 |publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals, GOI}}</ref> She has acted in some of the most critically acclaimed films in [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali cinema]] and is considered one of the great actresses of Bengali cinema.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0611538/|title=Madhabi Mukherjee|website=IMDb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/if-you-say-something-you-must-speak-out-the-whole-truth-or-else-don-t-say-anything-at-all/cid/579152|title='If you say something, you must speak out the whole truth. Or else, don't say anything at all'|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref>

==Early life==
Madhabi Mukherjee was born on 10 February 1942 and was raised with her sister Manjari by their mother in [[Kolkata]], in what was then [[Bengal]], India. As a young girl, she became involved in the theater.

She worked on stage with doyens such as [[Sisir Bhaduri]], [[Ahindra Choudhury]], [[Nirmalendu Lahiri]] and [[Chhabi Biswas]]. Some of the plays she acted in included ''Naa'' and ''Kalarah''. She made her film debut as a child artist in [[Premendra Mitra]]'s ''Dui beaee"{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}.

==Films==
Mukherjee first made a major impact with [[Mrinal Sen]]'s ''Baishey Shravan'' (''Wedding Day'') in 1960. The film is set in a Bengal village before and during the horrific famine of 1943 in Bengal that saw over 5 million die. Mukherjee plays a 16-year-old girl who marries a middle-aged man. Initially, she brightens his life but then World War II and the Bengal Famine hits them. The couple's marriage disintegrates.

Her next major film was [[Ritwik Ghatak]]'s ''[[Subarnarekha (film)|Subarnarekha]]'' (''The Golden Thread '') made in 1962, but released in 1965 – the last in a trilogy examining the socio-economic implications of partition, the other two being ''[[Meghe Dhaka Tara]]'' (''The Cloud-Capped Star'') (1960) and ''[[Komal Gandhar]]'' (''E-Flat'') (1961). In the film, Ghatak depicts the economic and socio-political crisis of Bengal from 1948 to 1962; how the crisis has first and foremost left one bereft of one's conscience. Mukherjee plays Sita, the younger sister of Ishwar (Abhi Bhattacharya), who kills herself when—as a prostitute waiting for her first customer—she finds out the customer is none other than her estranged brother.

==Working with Satyajit Ray==
In the early 1960s, she was recruited by [[Satyajit Ray]] to portray the role of Arati in the 1963 film ''[[Mahanagar]]'' (''The Big City'').

Recalling her meeting with Ray, Mukherjee wrote:
{{quote|He read me the entire story, ''Mahanagar''. I was stunned. This was the first woman-centered screenplay I had encountered. I was not going to play second fiddle to the main male character as in all plays and films I had acted in or was familiar with. (p.20)}}

In ''Mahanagar'', Mukherjee plays Arati, who takes a job as a saleswoman due to financial constraints in the family. The large joint family is horrified at the thought of a working woman. For Arati, going door to door selling knitting machines opens up a whole new world and new friends and acquaintances, including an Anglo-Indian friend, Edith. Earning money also raises Arati's status in the family especially when her husband ([[Anil Chatterjee]]) loses his job. When Edith is sacked unfairly, Arati resigns in protest...Mukherjee's towering performance as Arati dominates the film. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] wrote: "It might be useful to see the performance of Madhabi Mukherjee in this film. She is a beautiful deep, wonderful actress who simply surpasses all ordinary standards of judgment."

This film was followed by her portrayals of Charu in ''[[Charulata]]'' (''The Lonely Wife''), the 1964 film based on [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s novella ''[[Nashtanir]]'' (''The Broken Nest'', 1901). Mukherjee's stunning portrayal of Charulata, a bored and neglected housewife of Calcutta in the 19th century, is a towering performance in the history of Indian cinema.

Mukherjee reached the peak of her career with this film. It is said that when Ray returned to Tagore with ''[[Ghare Baire]]'' (1984) (''The Home and the World''), he stylised Swatilekha Chatterjee in a manner similar to Madhabi in ''Charulata''{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}.

Mukherjee's third and last film with Ray was ''[[Kapurush]]'' (''The Coward'') in 1965. The film looks at Amitabha Roy ([[Soumitra Chatterjee]]), a screenwriter whose car breaks down in a small town. He lodges with a local resident, Bimal Gupta (Haradhan Bannerjee). Bimal is married to Karuna (Mukherjee), who was a former girlfriend of Amitabha, a fact of which Bimal is unaware.

==After Satyajit Ray==
Although she remained a big star in the Bengali commercial film industry, after ''Kapurush'', Mukherjee failed to reach the critical heights as her films with [[Ritwik Ghatak]] and [[Satyajit Ray]] again.

Her major films after ''Kapurush'' include ''[[Calcutta 71]]'' in 1972 by [[Mrinal Sen]], ''Biraj Bou'' in 1972 by [[Manu Sen]], ''[[Strir Patra (film)|Strir Patra]]'' in 1972 by [[Purnendu Patri]], ''[[Ganadevata (film)|Ganadevata]]'' in 1978 by [[Tarun Majumdar]], ''Bancharamer Bagan'' in 1980 by [[Tapan Sinha]], ''[[Chokh]]'' in 1982, ''Chhandaneer'' in 1989 by [[Utpalendu Chakrabarty]] and ''Utsab'' in 2000 by [[Rituparno Ghosh]].

==Personal life==
Mukherjee is married to Bengali film actor [[Nirmal Kumar]].<ref name=":0" /> They have two daughters, but are currently separated.

She wrote her autobiography ''[[Ami Madhabi]]'' in 1995.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1080511/jsp/7days/story_9254905.jsp |title=The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) {{!}} Look {{!}} 'If you say something, you must speak out the whole truth. Or else, don't say anything at all' |website=www.telegraphindia.com |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolkata/had-ideas-not-funds-madhabi/articleshow/57069710.cms |title=Had ideas, not funds: Madhabi Mukherjee - Times of India |work=The Times of India |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref>

==Films==
* ''[[Sourav Paul Datta|Aabesh]]'' (2021)
* ''[[Kushumitar Gappo]]'' (2018)
* ''[[Bakita Byaktigato]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Hing Ting Chot]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Mayer Adar]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Utsab]]'' (2000) as Bhagabati
* ''[[Rangin Basanta]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Artikram]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Prithibir Shesh Station]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Mon Mane Na (1992 film)|Mon Mane Na]]'' (1993) as Dipak's mother
* ''[[Daan Pratidaan]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Antarer Bhalobasha]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Agni Trishna]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Chandaneer]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Kari Diye Kinlam]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Aghaton Ajo Ghatey]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Anjali (1988 film)|Anjali]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Ekti Jiban]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Hirer Shikal]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Pratikar]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Uttar Lipi]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Anurager Choa]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985 film)|Bhalobasa Bhalobasa]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Putulghar]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Jog Biyog]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Samapti]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Chhoto Maa]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Chokh]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Matir Swarga]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Prafulla]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Subarnalata]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Manikchand]]'' (1981) as Baroboudi
* ''[[Saheb]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Bancharamer Bagan]]'' (1980) as Chhakari's wife
* ''[[Ganadevata (film)|Ganadevata]]'' (1979) as Padma
* ''[[Yugo Manab]]'' Kabir (1976)
* ''[[Phool Sajya]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Natun Surya]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Agnishwar]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Bindur Chheley]]'' (1973) as Bindubasini
* ''[[Bon Palashir Padabali]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Strir Patra (film)|Strir Patra]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Chinna Patra]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Biraj Bou]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Jiban Rahasya]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Calcutta 71]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Chhadmabeshi]]'' (1971) as Sulekha
* ''[[Samantaral]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Duranta Charai]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Adwitiya]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Garh Nasimpur]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Chhotto Jignasa]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Kheya]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Ajana Shapath (1967)| Ajana Shapath]] '' (1967)
* ''[[Shankhabela]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Swapna Niye]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Kapurush]]'' (1965) as Karuna Gupta
* ''[[Ghoom Bhangar Gaan]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Subarnarekha (1962 film)|Subarnarekha]]'' (1965) as Sita
* ''[[Thana Theke Aschi]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Godhuli Belaye]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Binsati Janani]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Charulata]]'' (1964) as Charulata
* ''[[Mahanagar]]'' (1963) as Arati Mazumder
* ''[[Aaj Kal Parshu]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Baishey Shravana]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Tonsil]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Kankantala Light Railway]]'' (1950)
==Television==

* ■''[[Ishti Kutum]]''
* ■''[[Hiyar Majhe]]''
* ■''[[Kusum Dola]]''
* ■''[[Gachkouto]]''
* ■''[[Nokshi Kanthar Maath]]''

==Awards and nominations==
* 2017:Winner, [[WBFJA Lifetime Achievement Award]]
* 2014:Winner, Filmfare East Lifetime achievement award
* 1970:Winner, [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] for ''[[Dibratrir Kabya]]''
* 1965:Winner, [[BFJA Award for Best Actress]] for ''[[Charulata]]''
* 1966:Winner, [[BFJA Award for Best Actress]] for ''[[Dholgobinder Karcha]]''
* 1967:Winner, [[BFJA Award for Best Actress Award]] for ''[[Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar]]''
* 1971:Winner, [[BFJA Award for Best Actress Award]] for ''[[Dibaratir Kabya]]''
* Kalakar Awards<ref name="Kalakar award winners">{{cite web |title=Kalakar award winners |url=http://kalakarawards.co/images/listofawardees.pdf |publisher=Kalakar website |access-date=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425155216/http://kalakarawards.co/images/listofawardees.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref>

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*Mukherjee, Madhabi. ''My Life, My Love: An Autobiography.'' Palo Alto: The Stanford Theatre Foundation, 1999.

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0611538|name=Madhabi Mukherjee}}

{{National Film Award for Best Actress}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Madhabi}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses in Bengali cinema]]
[[Category:Kalakar Awards winners]]
[[Category:Best Actress National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]

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Madhabi Mukherjee