Veteran Bengali actress Swatilekha Sengupta died at the age of 71 in a Kolkata hospital on Wednesday afternoon. She was suffering from kidney ailments, her daughter Sohini told news agency PTI. Swatilekha Sengupta was being treated for kidney-related problems at a private hospital in Kolkata for the last 24 days, said her daughter, reported PTI. Swatilekha was a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and her death is "a huge and irreparable loss" for the Bengali film industry. Mourning the actress on Twitter, renowned Bengali film director Srijit Mukherji wrote: "Anti, gone. RIP Swatilekha Sengupta." Raj Chakrabarty, whose forthcoming project Dharmajuddha will mark Swatilekha Sengupta's last film, tweeted: "A huge and irreparable loss. Veteran actor and theatre personality Swatilekha Sengupta is no more. May her soul rest in peace."
Anti, gone. RIP Swatilekha Sengupta:(
— Srijit Mukherji (@srijitspeaketh) June 16, 2021
A huge and irreparable loss. Veteran actor and theatre personality Swatilekha Sengupta is no more. May her soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/OuDsSs5TRG
— Raj chakrabarty (@iamrajchoco) June 16, 2021
"Very sad to hear about #SwatilekhaSengupta. RIP. Was fortunate enough to work with her briefly as producer for our film #Chauranga. Unfortunately, the desire to direct her will remain unfulfilled. Gone too soon. Will remain immortalised for her performance in #GhareBhaire," wrote filmmaker Onir, who produced Swatilekha Sengupta's 2016 critically-acclaimed film Chauranga.
Very sad to hear about #SwatilekhaSengupta. RIP. Was fortunate enough to work with her briefly as producer for our film #Chauranga. Unfortunately the desire to direct her will remain unfulfilled. Gone too soon Will remain immortalised for her performance in #GhareBhaire . pic.twitter.com/LU4NnpGWqF
— Onir he/him (@IamOnir) June 16, 2021
Swatilekha Sengupta's performance as Bimala in Satyajit Ray's 1984 film Ghare Baire alongside Soumitra Chatterjee is still remembered by many. Soumitra Chatterjee died of COVID-19 in November last year. Swatilekha Sengupta and Soumitra Chatterjee also co-starred in Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy's blockbuster Bela Seshe. The duo also worked together in Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy's upcoming film Bela Shuru, which will mark their last project together.
Swatilekha Sengupta was also one of the spearheads of theatre group Nandikar, which she used to handle with her husband Rudraprasad Sengupta and daughter Sohini.
She was last seen in Sudip Chakraborty's 2019 film Barof.
