Chunibala Devi (c. 1872–1955) was an Indian character

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

best known for her performance in

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

's ''

Pather Panchali ''Pather Panchali'' (; ) is a 1955 Indian Bengali (language), Bengali-language Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is an adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Ba ...

'', where she played the old aunt, Indir Thakrun, to Apu and Durga. Formerly a theatre actress, Chunibala Devi made her film debut with ''Bigraha'' in 1930, though after her second film, ''Rikta'' in 1939 she retired. She was brought out of her retirement at the age of 80 by Satyajit Ray to act in the pivotal role of her career. She became the first Indian to win an award in the best actor/actress category in an international film festival, The Manila Film festival, for her role of Indir Thakrun. She died in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, of influenza, in 1955, before the release of ''Pather Panchali'', although Ray had been to her house to show her a projection.

Filmography

* ''Bigraha – The God and the Image'' (1930) * ''Rikta'' (1939) * ''

– Song of the Road'' (1955)

References

External links

*
The Making of Pather Panchali
Actresses from Kolkata Bengali Hindus 1870s births 1955 deaths 19th-century Indian actresses Bengali actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema {{India-film-actor-stub