Chumki Chowdhury

There have been several instances of the offspring of famous film personalities developing into fine artistes on their own merits, sometimes also outshining their parents. From that perspective Chumki Chowdhury the Bengali film and TV actress was ideally placed to make a name for her, blessed as she was, to be born into a family of movie personalities. Her father was the veteran director and screenplay writer Anjan Chowdhury, widely venerated even now after his death in 2007 as one of the better directors who had given a new turn to Bengali cinema. It was her father who had introduced Chumki into films, and it was Joysree Choudhury her mother who had groomed her for her dancing skills, keeping her ready for the subsequent plunge into the world of movies.

Even her other siblings have made their mark in films and TV, with younger sister Rina being in films while brother Sandip being engaged in direction of both TV serials and movies. In fact, even Chumki’s husband Lokesh Ghosh Lokesh Ghosh is an Indian movie actor by his profe >> Read More... is into movies as an actor, while her brother Sandip’s wife Bidisha is also an actress, thus completing a full circle. Considering this background of hers, it was expected that Chumki, now in 2015, celebrating her silver jubilee year in acting, would have been several rungs higher in the industry than what her present status shows. That, however, has somehow not happened, and although she is given her due respect in the industry, perhaps more for her being Anjan Choudhuri’s daughter than for her own accomplishments, most of her roles in the more than thirty films that she has appeared in, have received only lukewarm responses, if at all any. Her general sombre and reticent appearance perhaps has played a part in this, as this may not suit all roles that she has played, and being type cast into this mould is also no prescription for success or recognition.

It was expected that in her debut film “Hirak Jayanti” itself, when she was introduced in the lead role by her own father with much fanfare, she would draw rave reviews and put up a performance worth noting. This really did not happen and people had to wait till her third film “Abhagini” before some note could be taken of her acting skills. While her track record in films has been quite average, she has tried to give time to TV serials also, and after a break has once again appeared in a role for the Colors Bangla serial “Sesh Theke Shuru”, hoping to make some impression on her audience.

Rina Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)