Aparna Sen at her best! 7 films that reinvented her acting career

For 73 years, if there is one aspect that has remained the same, it’s the beauty, grace, and charm of one and only Aparna Sen. She was one of the gorgeous actors of her times, yet her films are never all about her elegant appearance. Aparna Sen’s characters have always been progressive, determined and these were the most important factors that made her a legend of Bengali cinema.Here is an elite list of films that saw some of her most memorable performances.


The 1973 Bengali superhit managed to tickle the funny bone of a generation of movie buffs. The film saw a battle of ego between a group of four young ladies and men and the rivalry soon leads to romance giving some of the best comic sequences ever. Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen’s brilliant acting among others gave the basic storyline so many twists and turns. It’s an out-and-out comedy with many stock characters like the hapless cop, the energetic parar dada, the troublesome parents, feminist female hostelites of the girls' mess and their lecherous male counterparts.

Just like Julie Andrews and Chris Plummer in ‘Sound Of Music’, the Uttam Kumar-Aparna Sen Jodi too stole every single heart in ‘Jay Jayanti’ which happens to be the Bengali remake of the Hollywood classic. Add Sandhya Mukherjee’s evergreen songs to this Sunil Basu Mullik directorial and the 1971 hit turns out to be a magical experience. Manabendra Mukhopadhyay did one of his best works while composing the music for ‘Jay Jayanti’. Aparna Sen as the governess of a group of kids delights us with her effortless portrayal of a mother’s image.


Inspired by a famous novel by Nimai Bhattacharya it starred Uttam Kumar in the lead. Director Pinaki Mukherjee did a superb job by combining the political world and romance of that period. Aparna Sen excelled as the young, educated Professor who falls in love with a hotshot journalist played by Uttam Kumar. While both stand for each other and dream for a happy future, political violence eventually ruins their life. This film, despite its romantic elements, taught us what the ethics of journalism means.

You would be a very rare person from West if you haven’t watched this universally loved film. Satyajit Ray penned the script of this romantic comedy. It’s an out and out commercial potboiler and not one of those artsy and intellectual gems one expects from Ray. The story is about the accidental exchange of similar-looking suitcases during a train journey. The protagonists Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen just amazed everyone with their brilliant onscreen chemistry and eventually became cinematic legends.


The unique friendship is at the crux of the film. Paromita (Rituparna), a modern woman and her mother-in-law Sanaka (Aparna Sen) get involved in a friendship bond. The differences in age and thoughts don’t stop them from becoming each other's confidants. But, Paromita and Sanaka's son one day splits away and the social structure creates a barrier between Paramita and Sanaka. The Aparna Sen directorial tries to explore women of different generations and establishes a shocking difference and similarity at the same time between the women from a wider perspective.

The complexity of a mother-daughter relationship is superbly picturized in this Rituparno Ghosh directorial. The complexity between Sarojini (Aparna Sen) and her late husband is the harsh picture of our society. The same thing happens to Aditi as her boyfriend doesn’t want her as a wife because she is the daughter of a dancer. Aparna Sen excelled in her role. Both the personality of a professional dancer and motherly love has superbly bloomed in the character Sarojini. Debashree Roy as the daughter Aditi amazed the audience.


Swet Patharer Thala, directed by Prabhat Roy, deals with the situation of widow Bandana in the post-independent scenario. The narrative also portrays the changing mindset in contemporary society. Aparna Sen as Bandana pulled off one of the best performances in her career. ‘Swet Patharer Thala’ tell us how difficult it is to bring change in the plight of women whatever may be the case. The situation is quite similar to all women whether educated or working. Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Rituparna Sengupta, Indrani Haldar, Bhaskar Banerjee; everyone played pivotal roles in this Bengali classic.