‘Ashchorjyo Pradip’ to ‘Kantatar’: Five times Sreelekha Mitra won our hearts with stellar performances

Ever since she dropped the bomb of ‘favouritism in Bengali film industry enough has been said about Sreelekha Mitra’s controversial video. While some have backed her, others have countered her allegations with razor-sharp words. Well, even after all these no one can deny Sreelekha’s acting credentials. She has always been a great actor. Here’s a list of five recent Bengali films which reinvented the actor inside Sreelekha Mitra

In Soukarya Ghosal’s children fantasy drama, a special child Ghoton (Mahabrata Basu) lives a sad life with his ever-scowling uncle Gondaria (Kaushik Sen). Ridding him of his daily chores and fuelling his dreams, poripishi (Sreelekha Mitra) comes to his rescue all of a sudden. The actors are the strongest links to the story that bring alive the narration on screen. While Mahabrata is brilliant, Sreelekha is on-point expressive and radiates certain aunt-like warmth and a fairy-like enigma.

Based on a short story by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Anik Datta’s ‘Ashchorjyo Prodip’ is a contemporary take on Aladdin and his Magic Lamp. The film revolves around a couple (played by Saswata Chatterjee and Sreelekha Mitra) and their unfulfilled aspirations, as they try hard to excel in this consumer-driven society. Sreelekha Mitra — as Anilabho’s ever-cribbing wife, Jhumur — does complete justice to her character.

Tuku (Ishaa Saha), a girl without any talents, has a hard time getting a suitor till a match comes along with a condition — she has to knit as good a sweater as the prospective groom’s mother (June Malia) within a month. She goes to her aunt’s (Sreelekha Mitra) house to learn knitting and her life changes forever. Sreelekha again delivers a nice, composed and a believable performance without any cinematic melodrama.

Bappaditya Bandopadhyay directed ‘Kantatar’ (Barbed Wire) revolves around the journey of Sudha (Sreelekha), an illegal emigrant who for survival's sake and in search of an identity, moves from one male to another and from one religion to another. Sudha's harsh life sees a desperate woman weaving herself in and out of different relationships with men and dabbling in various religions and Sreelekha yet again nails it with her flawless acting.

Ronojoy Mitra (Tota Roy Choudhury) and his wife Debi (Sreelekha Mitra) become the victims of a car accident, but Debi mysteriously disappears from the accident site. Next morning, she returns home, only to face questions on her morality. Sreelekha playing Debi is understated and dignified in her pain and helplessness. Raja Dasgupta’s debut film ‘Choukath… The Threshold’ raises pertinent questions and reveals our societal hypocrisy about women’s independence, morality and the notion of purity.