Lively ‘Balika’ Turns 62!

Moushumi Chatterjee, the actress who made her debut in films with the Bengali movie ‘Balika Badhu’, turns 62 today. The actress was recently seen in a small role in Aparna Sen’s poetic ‘The Japanese Wife’. Hers was the case of an actress entering films after marriage. She is best remembered in Hindi films as a vivacious and bubbly actress who starred opposite all the leading men of the Seventies, beginning with Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Mehra, Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra.

Moushumi’s career flourished to a great degree in the Seventies and the early Eighties, and she was a part of many hit films like ‘Anuraag’ (Vinod Mehra), ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan’, ‘Manzil’ (Amitabh Bachchan) and ‘Angoor’ (Sanjeev Kumar). Also a part of her repertoire were remakes of South films like ‘Maang Bharo Sajna’, ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’, ‘Justice Chowdhury’, ‘Daasi’, ‘Pyaasa Sawan’ and ‘Jyoti Bane Jwala’. With the South films having finally lived out their time, she also slowly faded away as heroine and was seen in films like ‘Kareeb’, ‘Bollywood/Hollywood’, ‘Aa Ab Laut Chalein’, playing character roles. While she did not win any award for her acting, she was nominated twice, once for ‘Best Actress’ for her role of a blind girl in ‘Anuraag’ and then later as ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her role as the rape victim in Manoj Kumar’s ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan’. Probably one of the most enduring image of hers is as Sanjeev Kumar’s suspicious wife in Gulzar’s ‘Angoor’.

On her b’day, here’s wishing Moushumi Chatterjee, fresh innings on the professional front and tons of happiness in her personal life.