Karuna Banerjee ( bn, করুণা ব্যানার্জী) (25 December 1919 – 13 November 2001) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

actress best known for her role 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 ''

The Apu Trilogy ''The Apu Trilogy'' comprises three Indian Bengali-language drama films directed by Satyajit Ray: '' Pather Panchali'' (1955), '' Aparajito'' (1956) and '' The World of Apu'' (1959). The original music for the films was composed by Ravi Shanka ...

'' (1955–1959) as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

at the 1959 BAFTA Awards for her performance in ''

Aparajito ''Aparajito'' ( bn, অপরাজিত ''Ôporajito''; ''The Unvanquished'') is a 1956 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray (1921–1992), and is the second part of ''The Apu Trilogy''. It is adapted from ...

'' (1956), the second part of ''The Apu Trilogy''. She appeared in a number of other films after that, including Ray's '' Devi'' (1960) and ''

Kanchenjungha ''Kanchenjungha'' (''Kanchonjônggha'') is a 1962 Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray. The film is about an upper class Bengali family on vacation in Darjeeling, a popular hill station and resort, near Kanchenjunga. Narrative structure The ...

'' (1962).

Early life

She graduated from the

Jogamaya Devi College Jogamaya Devi College is one of the oldest and leading women's colleges in Kolkata, India. It shares the same building with Asutosh College (day college) and Syamaprasad College (evening college) and is named after the wife of Sir Asutosh Mu ...

, an affiliated women's college of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

.History of the College
/ref>

Acting career

Banerjee's acting career expanded over more than two decades in Bengali cinema and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. She is best known for her memorable performance as Sarbajaya, the mother in the first two parts of

's ''

'': ''

Pather Panchali ''Pather Panchali'' (; ) is a 1955 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is an adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same na ...

'' (1955) and ''

'' (1956). Her performance in the latter earned her a

nomination at the 1959 BAFTA Awards. She acted in a few more films, including two more by Ray, two by

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

, and one by

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily rememb ...

that was never officially released.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1955), directed by

* ''

'' (1956), directed by

* ''Headmaster'' (1959), directed by Agragami * ''Shubha Bibaha'' (1959), directed by Sombhu Mitra and Amit Maitra * ''Kato Ajanare'' (1959), directed by

* '' Devi'' (1960), directed by

* ''

'' (1962), directed by

* ''To Light a Candle'', directed by Shanti P. Chowdhury * ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'' (1971), directed by

References

External links

*
সর্বংসহা, সর্বজয়া করুণা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

Anandabazar '' Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million co ...

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Actresses in Bengali cinema 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis 20th-century Indian actresses Bengali actresses 1919 births 2001 deaths Jogamaya Devi College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Indian film actresses {{India-film-actor-stub

Early life

Acting career

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links