Dear Rituparna (Sengupta)

Prabhat Roy’s Swet Pathorer Thala not only brought in a fresh breeze in the then lacklustre Tollywood, the arrival of an extremely gifted actress and potential star did not escape the eyes of critics as well. That sweet girl literally came, saw and conquered Tollywood with her beauty as well as brains. Her charismatic and glamorous performances opposite Chiranjeet, Tapas Paul and especially Prosenjit kept the box-office ringing and her cerebral skills brought a new dimension to the Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh films. The urge to act in more meaningful films made her the producer and thus came Aalo. Kudos to Tarun Majumdar for churning out yet another brilliant film but would the film have seen the light of the day without her patronage? She could have produced a masala movie or a melodrama like Swapan Saha. But, no, her deep respect for the roots of Bengal, its culture, value and ethos, the legacy of Tagore and Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay had made sure she produces Aalo and nothing else.

When the Bengalis were expecting the best from her as an artiste and a producer, she got lured again by the waves of the Arabian Sea. With big dreams in her eyes, she signed a few films but the much-hyped Main Meri Patni Aur Woh made a blink-and-you-miss presence in the theatres. Ritu, can you recognise the girl? Can’t you ask her, ‘What made her travel to the west coast? Why are Bengali stars always obsessed with all things Bolly in spite of reigning in an industry boasting the masterly touch of Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Chhabi Biswas, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Uttam Kumar,-Suchitra Sen, Soumitra Chatterjee and that giant named Satyajit Ray? Stars from Mumbai should strive to land a Tollywood project and feel honoured instead of the other way round. Ritu, tell that girl that the media may get mesmerised by the Riya-Raima Sens due to their ‘Bollywood quotient’, but posterity will remember our very own Sabitri Chatterjee due to her contribution towards Bengali culture. Please explain to her that she should not denigrate herself by dancing mere ‘item numbers’, rather a treasure of Tagore numbers are waiting to be presented through her rhythmical steps. The Aalo of Bengal should not get misguided by the glitter of Mumbai.

Your wellwisher,
Kajal Chatterjee
(Sodepur)

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