The little woman of Bengali soaps has returned…

After her Higher Secondary exams and a hush-hush marriage. “My HS tests were knocking on the door and I had to take a break (December 2006 to March 2007). I was working in the ETV Bangla serial Sonar Harin then,” says the 19-year-old who tied the knot with assistant director Shankar Chanda a few months before her exams. Samata is now juggling a Bengali (hons.) course in Jogesh Chandra College.

The disappearance set her back by a few roles...

But Samata has no regrets. “Many directors thought I was quitting TV and I lost some of my audience, but I have my priorities.”

A widow in trying circumstances is what Samata is playing in two serials...

Because for her “a role is a role”. “The feisty Shampa in Sonar Harin is till now my most fulfilling role. She’s a simple girl who goes through very difficult situations after the death of her husband (Bhaswar Chatterjee). But she never gives up.” In Zee Bangla’s Rani Kahini, she is the visually-challenged Alo. “Maybe I can portray a widow convincingly,” quips Samata.

Given a chance, she loves to dabble in…

Off-beat roles. “My first film was Raja Sen’s Desh where I played the younger version of Jaya Bachchan’s character and then I acted in Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Mondo Meyer Upakhyan as the daughter of a prostitute (Rituparna Sengupta).”

Balancing home and work is turning out to be tough...

“But I’m loving every bit of it. Although our profession leaves us with very little time, my husband and I catch up during the weekends over a film,” she smiles.