Arundhati Devi (; also known as Arundhati Mukherjee or Mukhopadhyay) (1924 – 1990) was an Indian actress, director, writer and singer who is predominantly known for her work in Bengali cinema. Arundhati Devi was a student of

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

where she was trained in

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Li ...

Sailajaranjan Majumdar Sailajaranjan Majumdar (19 July 1900–24 May 1992) was a distinguished exponent and teacher of Rabindra Sangeet. Early life The son of Ramanikishore and Saralasundari Majumdar, Sailajaranjan was born at Baham, Netrokona, now in Bangladesh, on ...

. She began her career as a Rabindra Sangeet singer at

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

in 1940. As an actress, Arundhati Devi made her film debut in Kartik Chattopadhyay's Bengali film ''Mahaprasthaner Pathe'' (1952) which also had a Hindi version under the title ''

Yatrik Yatrik, a 1952 Indian film directed by ''Kartick Chatterjee'', depicts a group of pilgrims on an arduous trek in the high Himalayas. It is the Hindi-language version of the Bengali film '' Mahaprasthaner Pathey'', the film made from the book of ...

''. Further on she collaborated with directors such as Devaki Kumar Bose in ''Nabajanma'' (1956), Asit Sen in ''Chalachal'' (1956) and ''Panchatapa'' (1957), Prabhat Mukhopadhyay in ''Maa'' (1956), ''Mamata'' (1957), '' Bicharak'' (1959) and ''Akashpatal'' (1960), and

Tapan Sinha Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...

in ''Kalamati'' (1958), ''Jhinder Bondi'' (1961), ''

Jatugriha ''Jatugriha'' is a 1964 Bengali social drama film directed by Tapan Sinha and produced by Uttam Kumar based on the novel of the same name by Subodh Ghosh. The film was produced and released on 20 March 1964 under the banner of Uttam Kumar Films ...

'' (1964). In 1963, she was conferred with BFJA Award for Best Actress for her role in the

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

winning Bengali film ''Bhagini Nivedita'' (1962) directed by Bijoy Bose. In 1967, she was conferred with the National Film Award for Best Film Based On High Literary Work for her directorial debut ''Chutti'' at the

14th National Film Awards The 14th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1966. The awards were presented on 10 October 1967 at the Vi ...

Personal life

Arundhati was born in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

, in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now Bangladesh). In 1955 she had a short-lived marriage with the director Prabhat Mukherjee. However, in 1957 she met film director

at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and they eventually got married. Their son is scientist

Anindya Sinha Anindya (Rana) Sinha is an Indian primatologist. He is a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), India. Early life After obtaining an undergraduate degree in botany from the University of Calcutta in 1983, he went on to e ...

. She died on 1 January 1990.

Filmography

As actress

*1976 ''Harmonium'' *1964 ''

'' as Madhuri *1963 ''Nyayadanda'' *1962 ''

Shiulibari ''Shiulibari'' is a 1962 Bengali film starring Uttam Kumar and Arundhati Devi. The film was released under the banner if Movietalk Private Limited It was a drama movie, directed by Pijush Bose and the screenplay was done by the legendary Tapan S ...

'' *1962 '' Bhagini Nivedita'' as

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was ...

*1961 ''

Jhinder Bondi ''Jhinder Bondi'' ( bn, ঝিন্দের বন্দী; English: Prisoner of Jhind) is a 1961 Indian Bengali-language historical drama film produced by Bholanath Roy under his banner B.N Productions and directed by the legendary Tapan S ...

'' *1960 ''Khudita Pashan'' *1960 ''Indradhanu'' *1960 ''Akash-Patal'' *1959 '' Bicharak'' (she became a Producer) *1959 ''Shashi Babur Sansar'' *1959 ''Pushpadhanu'' *1958 ''Manmoyee Girls' School'' as Niharika *1956 ''Chalachal'' *1956 ''Nabajanma'' *1955 ''Dashyumohan'' as Chapala alias Miss Sandhya Ray *1955 ''Du-janay'' *1955 ''Godhuli'' *1954 ''

Chheley Kaar ''Chheley Kaar'' () is a 1954 Indian Bengali-language romantic comedy film directed by Chitta Basu and produced by Charan Chitra. This film received President's Silver Medal in National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali in 1954. The ...

'' as Mili *1954 ''Nad-o-Nadi'' *1952 ''Mahaprasthaner Pathey'' as Rani *1952 ''

'' as Rani (the Hindi Version of the well-known Bengali film ''Maha Prasthaner Pathe'', in which she played the same role of Rani)

As director

*1985 ''Gokul'' *1983 ''Deepar Prem'' *1972 ''Padi Pishir Barmi Baksha'' *1969 ''

Megh o Roudra ''Megh o Roudra'' (English: Clouds and Sunshine) is a Bengali drama film directed by Arundhati Devi and produced by Ajitesh Bandopadhyay based on Rabindranath Tagore's short story by the same name. This film was released in 1969 under the banner ...

'' *1967 ''Chhuti'' (also script writer and music composer)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Arundhati Bengali film directors Bengali Hindus Film directors from Kolkata 1924 births 1990 deaths Indian women film directors Visva-Bharati University alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian film directors People from Barisal 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses from Kolkata Bengali actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Indian women screenwriters 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Bengali screenwriters Bengali film score composers Indian women composers 20th-century Indian composers Screenwriters from Kolkata 20th-century Indian women musicians Women musicians from West Bengal People from New Alipore 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers 20th-century Indian screenwriters