Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with

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 ...

language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958.

Early life

Ruma Guha Thakurta was born on 3 November 1934 to Satyen Ghosh (Monty Ghosh) and singer Sati Devi. Her family was culturally inclined to Brahmo Samaj, a societal component of Brahmoism. Sati was a trained vocalist and a niece of

Bijoya Ray Bijoya Ray ('' née'' Das; 27 October 1917 – 2 June 2015) was the wife of the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Their son Sandip Ray is also a film director. Bijoya and Satyajit were first cousins. Bijoya's father was the eldest half brother of ...

, the wife of

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 ...

. Ruma Guha Thakurta began as a dancer. Later, she went to Almora Academy of Uday Shankar at Lahore to study dance. She started training in music at Swarabitan in Kolkata, which had been established by her parents. In later years, she studied under Abdul Rehman Khan of Patiala gharana, the Ustad of Nirmla Devi and Lakshmi Shankar in Bombay. She married

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

in 1951 and had a son Amit Kumar by this marriage. The couple divorced in 1958 and she married Arup Guha Thakurta in 1960. The couple had two children, Ayan and Sromona. Sromona is also a singer.

Career

Guha Thakurta made her acting debut in Amiya Chakravarty's '' Jwar Bhata'' (1944) at age ten. This was the debut film of Dilip Kumar. Her next film as Ruma Ghosh was

Nitin Bose Nitin Bose (26 April 1897 – 14 April 1986) was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter of the nation's film industry. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city. In the 1930s and early 1940s, he worked with New Theatre ...

, whose first cousin was her aunt's father-in-law,'s ''Mashaal'' (1950) in Hindi, which had a

version called ''Samar'', adapted from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel ''Rajani''. She portrayed a blind girl, Sarla. After her divorce, Ruma moved to Calcutta to act in Rajen Tarafdar’s ''Ganga'' based on

Samaresh Bose Samaresh Basu (11 December 1924 – 12 March 1988) was a writer in modern Bengali literature, known for his versatility and vast range of themes. He wrote under the pen name ''Kalkut''. Basu was awarded the 1980 Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengal ...

’s eponymous cult novel. She acted as one of two leading ladies, with Sandhya Roy. ''Ganga'' won the National award for Best Feature Film that year and Ruma's portrayal of Himi received critical acclamation. In the same year, she acted in ''Personal Assistant'' opposite to Bhanu Bandopadhayay and in ''Khaniker Atithi'' by Tapan Sinha. Her film career revived in 1962 with ''Benarasi,'' produced by her and directed by her husband. It was the tale of a courtesan who tries to lead a life of dignity and respect, when her childhood sweetheart, Ratan, takes her away from her terrible environment. It flopped, but won the BFJA Award for Best Feature Film the following year.

Filmography

As an actress

As a playback singer

Awards

* BFJA Awards (1964) for Best Actress in supporting role – Palatak *

IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) The IFFI Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Silver Peacock for the Best Actor Award (Female)) is an honor presented annually at the International Film Festival of India since 2010 to an actress for the best performance in a leading ...

(1965) for " Nirjan Saikate" at 3rd IFFI

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thakurta, Ruma Guha 2019 deaths Bengali actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Bengali singers Brahmos People associated with Santiniketan Indian film actresses Actresses from Kolkata 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from West Bengal Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian women playback singers Bengali playback singers Singers from Kolkata 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian actresses 1934 births