‘Puratwan’ may be my last Bengali film due to health fitness issues: Sharmila Tagore

Legendary actor Sharmila Tagore said her just-released film ‘Puratwan’ might be her last Bengali film.

The Padma Bhushan awardee said she loved doing Bengali films but her health conditions will make it stressful for her.

“Let’s see. I love doing Bengali films. I love everything about Kolkata but I am not as much fit (for acting in shoots) as required due to my health conditions,” she said on Friday night to a question about turning up in future works.

Recalling her shooting experience in Puratwan in 2023, Tagore said, “We have shot together for 14-15 days together at a resort on the bank of river Ganga and we had a great time.”

“There is such a comfort level to mouth your dialogues in Bengali. You can quickly improvise for a dialogue. After so many years I could entirely speak in Bengali, my own language, in a movie,” said Tagore – who is turning up in a Bengali film after 14 years.

To another question, Tagore said, “For me each and every film appears to be challenging. You want to do it (role being essayed) with a purpose.”

Tagore said her portrayal of an elderly mother’s role in Puratwan, where she is the on-screen mother of a corporate honcho, a present-day career woman – essayed by Rituparna Sengupta – is one “which does not come always.”

Complimenting Director Suman Ghosh for developing such a beautiful narrative she said, “he tried his best to make me look beautiful in every frame.”

Tagore said she loved watching the restored version of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Nayak’ (1966), where she is pitted opposite Uttam Kumar.

“I loved it so much! The restored print. Amazing photography. The brilliant difference in lighting for indoor and outdoor shoots. He (Ray) carried it off so beautifully! It is significant how he brought so much effect with low budget,” she gushed.

Tagore made her debut in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apur Sansar’ at the age of 14 in 1959.

She also acted in Ray’s Devi, Aranyer Din Ratri among others.

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“I share the vibes whenever I come to Kolkata. People of different classes and strata have mingled so beautifully here. On the way to shoot in Titagarh near Kolkata, I would see people playing carrom on the road, leading their lives, carrying on their activities. Everyone is living happily side by side here. Kolkata has this inclusivity and humane soul which I love,” she signed off.

The film has been produced by Rituparna Sengupta.