Karuna Banerjee
Encyclopedia
Karuna Banerjee (December 25, 1919 – November 13, 2001) was a Bengali
actress immortalized by her roles in Satyajit Ray
's The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for Best Actress
at the 1959 BAFTA Awards
for her performance in Aparajito
(1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. She appeared in a number of other films after that, including Ray's Devi (1960) and Kanchenjungha
(1962).
, an affiliated women's college of the University of Calcutta
.
and theatre. She is best known for her memorable performance as Sarbajaya, the mother in the first two parts of Satyajit Ray
's The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito
(1956). Her performance in the latter earned her a Best Actress
nomination at the 1959 BAFTA Awards
. She went on to act in a few more films, including two more by Ray, one by Mrinal Sen
, and one by Ritwik Ghatak that was never officially released.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
actress immortalized by her roles in Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for Best Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
at the 1959 BAFTA Awards
12th British Academy Film Awards
The 12th British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1959, honoured the best films of 1958.-Best Film: Room at the Top *Aparajito*Ice-Cold in Alex*Indiscreet*The Cranes Are Flying...
for her performance in Aparajito
Aparajito
Aparajito is a 1956 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, and is the second part of The Apu Trilogy. It is adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel Pather Panchali and the first one-third of its sequel Aparajito. It focuses on the life of Apu from childhood to college...
(1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. She appeared in a number of other films after that, including Ray's Devi (1960) and Kanchenjungha
Kanchenjungha
Kanchenjungha is a 1962 Bengali film by Bengali film director Satyajit Ray. It was Ray's first original screenplay and his first colour film....
(1962).
Early life
She graduated from the Jogamaya Devi CollegeJogamaya Devi College
Jogamaya Devi College is a women's college in Kolkata, India. The college offers undergraduate degrees and is affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It was established in 1932.-Notable alumnae:*Maitreyi Devi*Bijoya Ray*Uma Dasgupta*Amala Shankar...
, an affiliated women's college of the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
.
Acting career
Karuna Banerjee (aka Karuna Bandhyopadhyay) had an acting career of more than two decades in Bengali cinemaBengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
and theatre. She is best known for her memorable performance as Sarbajaya, the mother in the first two parts of Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito
Aparajito
Aparajito is a 1956 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, and is the second part of The Apu Trilogy. It is adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel Pather Panchali and the first one-third of its sequel Aparajito. It focuses on the life of Apu from childhood to college...
(1956). Her performance in the latter earned her a Best Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
nomination at the 1959 BAFTA Awards
12th British Academy Film Awards
The 12th British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1959, honoured the best films of 1958.-Best Film: Room at the Top *Aparajito*Ice-Cold in Alex*Indiscreet*The Cranes Are Flying...
. She went on to act in a few more films, including two more by Ray, one by Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
, and one by Ritwik Ghatak that was never officially released.
Filmography
- Pather Panchali (1955), directed by Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
- AparajitoAparajitoAparajito is a 1956 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, and is the second part of The Apu Trilogy. It is adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel Pather Panchali and the first one-third of its sequel Aparajito. It focuses on the life of Apu from childhood to college...
(1956), directed by Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature... - Headmaster (1959), directed by Agragami
- Shubha Bibaha (1959), directed by Sombhu MitraSombhu MitraSombhu Mitra was an Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright and one of the pre-eminent Indian theatre personalities, especially Bengali theatre, where he is considered a pioneer. He remained associated with Indian People’s Theatre Association for a few years before founding Bohurupree...
and Amit Maitra - Kato Ajanare (1959), directed by Ritwik Ghatak
- Devi (1960), directed by Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
- KanchenjunghaKanchenjunghaKanchenjungha is a 1962 Bengali film by Bengali film director Satyajit Ray. It was Ray's first original screenplay and his first colour film....
(1962), directed by Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature... - To Light a Candle, directed by Shanti P. Chowdhury
- InterviewInterview (1971 film)Interview was a 1973 Bengali film directed by noted Indian art film director Mrinal Sen. A path-breaking film in terms of the narrative innovation and cinematic technique, it was a commercial success went to run for six weeks amidst gushing admiration and accolades, when it was screened first. It...
(1971), directed by Mrinal SenMrinal SenMrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
Further reading
- Satyajit Ray, the filmmaker, the book of the films, The Apu Trilogy (ISBN 0-85647-100-3)
- Karuna Banerjee's collection of writings were published as a book, entitled An Actress in Her Time (A Celluloid Chapter Persona Series) in English and in Bengali.
- Sarbajaya: Selected Writings of Karuna Banerjee (ISBN 81-86017-13-5)