Chhaya Devi (Bengali: ছায়া দেবী; 3 June 1914 – 25 April 2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema.[3] She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades.[2]
Chhaya Devi was born in Bhagalpur.[5] Her father was Haradhan Gangopadhyay. She started her education in the Mokshda Girls High School in Adampur, Bhagalpur. Later her father was transferred to Delhi and she continued her education in the Indraprastha Girls School. She was married to Buddhadeb Chattopadhyay, a teacher at Ranchi, at the age of eleven. Her marriage did not last long and she came to Kolkata with her father when she was a student of tenth standard only.[citation needed] She was first cousin of actor Ashok Kumar's wife Shobha Ganguly, thus was related to the Ganguly family as well.[6] However, though very little is known about her early life, her life is believed to be full of struggle. After she reached Kolkata she chose her career as an actress in films and stage, which she pursued for the next five decades.[7]
Career
Though Chhaya Devi debuted in Bengali movie Sonar Sansar in 1936, she acquired fame for the outstanding acting in the role of Queen Lakshmi in the movie Bidyapati in 1938.[7] From lead female roles in her early days to character roles in her later years, Chhaya Devi had shown her creative ability in acting.
In Atal Jaler Ahwan (1962), she stole the heart of the viewers with her soft and loving acting as surrogate mother of Soumitra. In Deya Neya (1963) she acted as the helpless mother of the aspirant singer Prashanta (Uttam Kumar). In the movie Saat Pake Badha (1963) she was the heartless, rude and indifferent mother of Suchitra Sen opposing the affair of her daughter with Soumitra. Chhaya Devi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar in many films. In Anthony Firingee (1967), Chhaya Devi was mother of Hensman Antony (Uttam Kumar). Apanjan, an outstanding film directed by Tapan Sinha in 1967, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali,[8] as well as several BFJA Awards, was considered having one of the best of the performances of Chhaya Devi.[citation needed] In Podi Pisir Bormi Bakso (1972), a children's movie made from a story written by Leela Majumdar and directed by Arundhati Devi, Chhaya Devi played an unforgettable lead comic role of Podi Pisi, the widowed elderly aunt.[7] Her last film was Tomar Rakte Amar Sohag, which was released in 1993, in which she acted in a cameo role.
