The Femme Fierce of Tollywood

Rishav Chatterjee

The Femme Fierce of Tollywood

Padma Shri awardee, winner of numerous National Awards, mother of the extremely talented Konkona Sen Sharma, wine connoisseur, maker of eye-opening films – these are only some of the feathers in her cap.

Aparan Sen is also belovedly called "Rina Di" by her colleagues; Image Source: Telegraph

One can almost argue that Aparna Sen was destined to be a filmmaker with a unique lens to view the world. She was the daughter of the veteran filmmaker and critic Chidananda Dasgupta. Aparna Sen grew up in a post-colonial which was a hub for Anglo-Indians. As a result of this, she came across many unique Anglo-Indians during her schooling in Modern High School for girls and later in Presidency College.

Before she made herself comfortable in the director’s chair, Aparna Sen made stirs in Tollygunge with her acting skills. She was first seen in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya at the age of 15. The cinema auteur was quick to notice her skills and later she was cast in Ray’s short film Pikoo. After this, she went to share the screen with big names such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Rekha.

“I don’t make experimental cinema or so-called formula films. Instead, I make films which are true to my artistic vision” this is how Aparna Sen chooses to direct her films. Before she came to the helm, there was no tend in having a female lead in the film. Even if a woman-centric was made, it portrayed women as the moral standard of the film. In Aparna Sen’s films, the women smoke and even engage in adulterous relations, in her films women can also be flawed.

She started her directorial journey with the release of 36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981. The film clearly comes out of Aparna Sen’s Anglo-Indian influence where she shows an old Anglo-Indian teacher who is conflicted what her true homeland is. Boasting big names like Dhritiman Chatterjee and peppy English tracks like “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” – this was a film that was new to everybody. 36 Chowringhee Lane went on to win the Grand Prix at the Manila International Film Festival.

Aparna Sen was not a one-hit wonderer, she quickly followed up with critically acclaimed films like Paroma, Sati and Yuganta. Although her film Paromiter Ek Din was another immensely successful, it was unique in the sense that it beautifully explored the relationship between a divorced woman and her mother-in-law. This film again created considerable stirs in the international festival circuit.

Her film Mr and Mrs Iyer was another poignant film that showed a moving loving story in the context of Hindu-Muslim sectarian sentiments in India. Although it won yet another National Award, it was heavily censored at instances due to its radical nature.

Aparna Sen’s films are always character-driven films often showcasing bold female leads set against the meta-narrative of societal problems. This duality and juxtaposition of narratives, whereby an individual strives to find their worth in their contemporary society, are what makes her films so uniquely beautiful.

In recent times, she directed a modern-day adaptation of Tagore's “Ghare Baire” which won considerable critical and commercial acclaim. Her 2021 Hindi Film Rapist starring Konkana Sen Sharma and Arjun Rampal is a bold commentary on the king society that breeds a rapist. It even won an award at the Busan International Film Festival. She’s still as bold as ever most probably busy writing the script of her next film that will mirror the present conditions of the society around us.