Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay

Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay was a Bengali actress based in West Bengal. She predominantly worked in the Bengali television industry and was particularly known for performing negative roles. She was born on 8 August 1956 in Belurmath, Howrah, West Bengal. Her father was Subhash Kumar Mukherjee, who was a noted entrepreneur, footballer, and a pioneer in the field of perfumery. His elder brother, Madhusudan Mukherjee, used to own renowned perfume firms such as The Ghosh Brothers Perfumers, Nirjas, Keshut, and Imuno Chemicals. Her mother was Bulbul Mukherjee.

She got married to Jayanta Banerji on 27 January 1980 and has only a son named Anurag Banerjee who is a researcher, writer, and founder of the Overman Foundation which is a leading research institute dedicated to the ideals of Sri Aurobindo. Sanghamitra completed her schooling at the Adi Mahakali Pathsala, which is a distinguished school in north Kolkata founded by Mataji Gangabai. Later, she joined the Presidency College, where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Sanskrit Literature. Then, she did a Master of Arts in Sanskrit Literature from the Calcutta University.

She also holds a Teaching Diploma in Classical Dance from Tokyo, a Diploma in Bengali Literature from Nikhil Banga Sahitya Parishad, and a Diploma in Classical Dance from Prayag Sangeet Samiti of Allahabad. She was also a professional classical dancer and got training under the guidance of Nataraj Parimal Krishna, Thankomani Kutti (Bharatnatyam), Ramgopal Bhattacharya (Creative Dance), and Bela Arnab (Kaththak). She also represented India at a conference on classical dance organized by UNESCO in South-East Asia in 1981. 

When she was studying at the University of Calcutta, she was selected by the legendary actor Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar was matinee idol of Bengali cinema. He >> Read More... to cast her in his last directorial venture called Kalankini Kankabati, which was released in August 1981. However, she had no serious intention of becoming a professional actress because she wanted to become an acclaimed classical dancer as she was extremely passionate about Kaththak. Sanghamitra was later approached by Umanath Bhattacharya to play a pivotal role in his film called Ashililatar Daye.

Soon, she began to act professionally in critically acclaimed movies such as Amrita Kumbher Sandhane, Togori, Parshuramer Kuthar, Atmaja, and others. She also started playing negative roles in the mid-1980s in various commercially successful movies such as Streer Maryada, Choto Bou, and Parasmani. She also gained popularity by her superlative performance in some commercial films including Apan Aamar Apan, Bouma, Joy Porajoy, and many others. In Bouma, Sanghamitra worked opposite Ranjit Mallick Ranjit Mallick is a famous Indian actor known for >> Read More... , and it was a huge success.

After the success of this movie, both of them worked together in many other movies such as Tumi Je Amar Tumi Je Amar is a Bengali drama serial telecast on >> Read More... , Bidhilipi, Satarupa Chowdhury Paribar, Choto Bou, Loafer, Streer Maryada Sathi, among others. Moreover, in the 1980s, Sanghamitra was also starred in the first Bengali mega-serial called Nivedita Research Laboratory in which she played the role of Julie. From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, she acted in more than fifty theatre dramas, such as Aparajita, Swargo Narak, Ghar Jamai Ghar Jamai is a Hindi television sitcom that was b >> Read More... , Mallika, Sujata, Samrat O Sundari, Golok-Dhanda, etc. On the television screen, she acted in various serials, including Manorama Cabin, Peter Uncle, Seemarekha, Asha, Katha, Ogo Priyotama, Nishkriti, Bordidi, Tritiya Pandav, and Luckochuri. 

In her three-and-a-half decades-long career, she acted in almost three hundred films and worked with renowned directors such as Tapan Sinha   Tapan Sinha, one of the foremost Indian directo >> Read More... , Utpal Dutta, Tarun Mazumdar, Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi is a National Award-winning Indian Actress >> Read More... , Dilip Roy Dilip Roy was a famous actor-director in Bengali c >> Read More... , Nabyendu Chatterjee Nabyendu Chatterjee is an Indian-Director and Prod >> Read More... , Dinen Gupta Dinen Gupta is a Bengali Director, Writer, Produce >> Read More... , etc. Some of her popular movies include Surer Bhubone, Proshno, Abhimanyu, Rupoban Kanya, Mahabharati, Kancher Prithibi, Laho Pronam, Thikana, Shesh Pratiksha, Prathama, Atmaja, Anutap, Dristhi, Bohurupa, Karna, Tarini Tara Ma, Tomar Amar Prem, Amie Sei Meye, Ganga, Ami Je Tomari, Kali Amar Ma, Chowdhury Paribar, Lathi, Loafer, among others.

Moreover, she has received multiple awards and accolades, such as Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Smriti Puraskar, Uttam Kumar Smriti Puraskar, Mahanayak Uttam Kumar Parithoshik Smriti Puraskar, Kishore Kumar Award, Art Forum Award, Nataraj Puraskar, Natun Pragati Seronama Award, Pramatesh Chandra Barua Award, Nandini Maliya Smriti Puraskar, Rahul Dev Burman Smriti Puraskar and many others. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay passed away at the age of sixty on 27 October 2016 after fighting a long battle against cancer.