 |
Sanchaita Sarkar lasted in Calcutta just 11 months. The 24-year-old girl from a well-off Siliguri family who came to this city wanting to become an actress was found hanging in a room of the rented flat where she used to live with her married lover one February day.
She died without leaving behind a suicide note so no one really knows why she killed herself. Sanchaita’s family said in their complaint to the police that she was either murdered or forced to kill herself. They hold her boyfriend Saupayan Sinha responsible for her death. The businessman, who runs a travel agency, was arrested on the charge of abetting suicide and is now out on bail.
The police believe — in the words of an investigator handling the case — “emotional frustration and deep-seated depression led Sanchaita to commit suicide”.
She did have a troubled personal life. She had been married once in her hometown but reports suggest it didn’t last long. But the overwhelming theme of her life was the ambition to be an actress. That drive led her to enter her name in a local beauty pageant by apparently not disclosing her married identity — it’s not a grave crime, winners of famous competitions are known to have committed it.
Sanchaita went on to wear the crown of Miss Siliguri, the spur she needed to set off for Calcutta. She hadn’t finished her graduation, dropping out in the second year of college, though not apparently for lack of support from the family who sent her to English medium schools.
Her widowed mother said: “From her childhood she had dreamt to be a star and would take part in cultural events. She had acted in regional films and video albums but her first breakthrough was to be chosen Miss Siliguri on February 14, 2008.”
Sanchaita left for Calcutta in March and after a year and two days from the time she became the queen of Siliguri she was dead.
One of her two brothers said: “When we talked to her for the last time she said she was in a dilemma and that her friend Saupayan was hindering her career and had virtually confined her.”
The military man added: “My mother and I had talked to her repeatedly on February 15 night and on the afternoon of February 16, asking her to keep her cool. But after a few hours, we got the shocking news of her death.”
Why does the world stop spinning for a girl at the age of 24?
Her family — she is the youngest of four siblings — says offers started to come her way after she won the pageant but there is only evidence so far of her having acted in bit parts in two regional films. She would have knocked on the doors of Bengali film producers without success but kept herself moving in the circuit by doing the odd ramp show.
A model who had shared the ramp with her said: “In spite of possessing decent looks and being at ease in front of the camera, films continued to elude her. She was professionally frustrated, though that isn’t something she readily revealed.”
In parties she was the livewire who set the dance floor on fire. “She loved to dance,” said her friend and model Payel Saha.
Apurba Sarkar, manager of the Octane lounge at Gariahaat Mall, said: “She did participate in a few fashion shows here and would party very often with a set of friends.”
If the accounts of her friends were true, Sanchaita would rather go out and have a good time than sit at home thinking of ways to kill herself.
At the same time, her career was not going anywhere. She was 5ft3in, not tall enough to be a successful model, nor possibly thin enough. “One or two ramp shows apart, Sanchaita wasn’t really doing anything professionally,” said photographer Suranjan Palit who shot her portfolio three months ago.
It’s not clear where and how she met Saupayan, who runs a travel agency, but the two hit it off immediately. “She was very serious about Saupayan,” said Payel.
The couple moved into a rented two-bedroom flat in a lane opposite South City Mall, introducing themselves to the landlord of the run-down building as husband and wife.
Gopal Kansari remembers her as a “respectful” young woman who would address him as kaku. “The two told me that they had a registered marriage and were planning to make it public soon. They were like any other young couple and I had no reason to doubt them, especially when Sanchaita’s mother came and stayed a few weeks,” he said.
Her mother had come over to help her set up house — “she had done up the apartment very nicely,” said Kansari. Even her brother had visited her. “She introduced us to Saupayan as a friend,” he said.
In the business of renting out cars, Saupayan had a different vehicle parked at the mouth of the lane every second day. “One day it would be a Ford Ikon and another day a Santro. They would often go out together, but the late nights were not so frequent,” said Beena Biswas, a neighbour. Friends dropped in often and neighbours spotted Sanchaita and Saupayan on the steps holding hands.
“The initial euphoria over, Saupayan started staying away, causing Sanchaita’s depression,” said a friend on condition of anonymity.
A neighbour had stumbled on evidence of tension. “Sometime in January, the door of my flat was open and I heard them arguing as they were walking up the staircase, with Sanchaita telling Saupayan, ‘Jai hok aaj tomake ekhanei thakte hobe (Whatever happens, you will have to stay here today)’.”
Rickshaw puller Babulal Naskar, who would often ferry Sanchaita to the bus stand or the Metro station, said: “Sometimes I heard her fighting with someone over the phone and once she was crying.”
The fights started getting frequent, with even the landlord having to interfere once. “The maid who worked in their house told my wife that the two were having violent fights and that we should probably look for another tenant. She had also defaulted on the rent for two months. But when I spoke to her, she assured me with a smile that nothing was wrong. She was ever-smiling,” said Kansari.
The first thing her acquaintances remember her for was her chirpiness. But Payel found a different Sanchaita in the last few weeks before her death. “She would drink heavily and chain-smoke.”
On the evening of February 16, Saupayan attended to his ailing mother while Sanchaita kept calling him to accompany her to a lawyer to file a divorce case against his wife. “When he did not come, she threatened to kill herself,” said a friend.
Her family has a different version. On February 14 Sanchaita called her mother to say she was upset and complained about Saupayan, admitting that she had a relationship with him. “She said she wanted to discontinue it but he was insisting that they get married,” her brother said.
When repeated calls by a friend to Sanchaita went unanswered, Saupayan and some others rushed to the flat to find her hanging in the bedroom. “There were cigarette butts all over the floor, though no alcohol was found in her body. The post-mortem report ruled out pregnancy,” said the investigator.
'We have recovered prescriptions from the flat showing that she was being treated for depression,' the investigator added but none of her friends is aware she was under therapy.
With her ambition hitting a blind alley and her emotional life a wreck, it's not hard to imagine her sinking into depression. Sociologist Prasanta Ray said: 'People are either trying to cope with setbacks in their professional life or impediments in their personal relationships. When the two combine, it leads to something drastic.'
For a small-town girl alone in a large, unfriendly city with no family at hand to fall back on, the 'drastic' can arrive even more quickly.
Makeup artiste Aniruddha Chakladar offers an insight: 'Too many girls and boys are coming in from smaller towns and suburbs who want to make it big in this field (modelling and show business) without realising they really don't have what it takes.'
With brown hair, hazel eyes and a full mouth, Sanchaita was attractive enough to be a model. But if you're overweight, you can go hang. That's one way of looking at it.
But then she had always wanted to be an actress, not a model. She got drama all right but it was just too real.
