Sera Bangali 2016

Veteran actress Sabitri Chatterjee received the Sera Bangali (Lifetime Achievement) award from Soumitra Chatterjee — her co-star from Pratinidhi (1964) to Praktan (2016) — at the 12th edition of ABP Ananda Sera Bangali 2016, presented by Siddha and Camellia Group, and partnered by The Telegraph, at ITC Sonar on Saturday evening. 
“This day will forever remain etched in my memory. The inner world of an artiste is like a cloudy sky. We wait for a ray of sunshine. Today is that day  for me,” said the leading lady of films like Nishi Padma and Bhranti Bilash, known best for her perfect comic timing.

Prosenjit helped Sabitri on to the stage, where she got a warm hug from Soumitra, with Suman De of ABP Ananda all smiles.

Economist Kaushik Basu received the Serar Sera award and walked down nostalgia lane during his speech. “I was born in Calcutta and spent 17 years of my life here. I have travelled the world but the pull of Calcutta is still very strong.... My father, a lawyer, was a huge influence on me. He sent me to England to study law. But after listening to Amartya Sen’s lectures at London School of Economics, I decided to switch to economics. Amartya Sen is the second biggest influence in my life,” said the chief economist and senior vice-president of World Bank. 

Manoj Mitra received the Sera Bangali (Theatre) award from actor Debshankar Halder. On the big screen, Mitra’s best known work is as Banchharam in Tapan Sinha’s Banchharamer Bagan. 

Mriganka Sur received the Sera Bangali (Science) award from neurobiologist Sumantra Chattarji. “I was born in UP and grew up in Allahabad. I have received many awards but an award from Calcutta is special,” said Sur, a neuroscientist based in Boston, who told t2 he’s a “big football fanatic”. His favourite players? Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo! 

Golfer SSP Chawrasia received the Sera Bangali (Sports) award from former cricketer Arun Lal (right) and Sanjay Jain, managing director, Siddha Group. “I feel honoured. The amount of respect and love this city has given me over the years is immense, which is one of my biggest reasons to not leave the city. I might go and play tournaments across continents but at the end of the day, the plan is to come back to Calcutta,” SSP told t2, back in town after the 
Rio Olympics.

Shiboprosad Mukhopadhyay-Nandita Roy received the Sera Bangali (Direction) award from Prosenjit, the star of their latest hit Praktan, with star anchor Mimi looking on. “This is a memorable day for me,” said Nandita. “We have reached this stage because of the love of the audience,” said Shiboprosad. 

Antara Mitra received the Sera Bangali (Music) award from singer-songwriter Rupam. “I feel lucky to have got this award at such an early stage of my career. This is a huge responsibility for me,” said Antara, who was the voice of Kajol in Gerua from Dilwale. 

Dipankar Chattopadhyay, chairman of Luxmi Group, received the Sera Bangali (Industry) award from (right) Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank, and N.R. Datta, chairman and managing director of Camellia Group.

Artist Jogen Chowdhury received the Sera Bangali (Art) award from Ganesh Haloi. 

Tollywood actress Mimi Chakraborty was the celebrity anchor for the Sera Bangali 2016 awards. “This is the first time I hosted an awards show. I was a little nervous initially but became okay soon. The Sera Bangali award ceremony offers a rare opportunity to meet so many talented, world-renowned people,” Mimi told t2, looking pretty in red. 

Snapshots from the sidelines & after-party

Pictures: Rashbehari Das and Pradip Sanyal