Rajeshwari Raychowdhury

Rajeshwari Raychowdhury
Raychowdhury in 1987
Born1952 (1952)
Bhowanipore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Died1994 (aged 41–42)
Kolkata, West Bengal
CitizenshipIndian
Alma mater
Occupation
Years active1973, 1979—1994
PartnerAbhishek Chatterjee (1986—1991)
Children3
Parents

Rajeshwari Raychowdhury (1952—1994) was an Indian actress who is recognized for her work in Bengali cinema.[3][4] The daughter of the eminent faminist writer Kabita Sinha, she made her big screen debut in Purnendu Patri's Strir Patra (1973) which was based on Rabindranath Tagore's short story of the same name.[5] Afterwards, she appeared in films such as Job Charnaker Bibi (1979), Sansarer Itikatha (1983), Rajpurush (1987), Dolonchanpa (1987), Devi Baran (1988), Shatru Pakhha (1989). Her relationship with Abhishek Chatterjee attracted significant media attention.[5][6]

Early life

Rajeshwari was born in 1952, to the Bengali Writer Bimal Raychowdhury and the Bengali poet Kabita Sinha. Parameshwari Raychowdhury and Konad Raychowdhury are her younger siblings.[2] The eloped couple had to work very hard to make both ends meet as aspiring writers and poets[7]

Career

Raychowdhury made her debut in Purnendu Patri's Strir Patra (1973) which was based on Rabindranath Tagore's short story of the same name.[8] The film well documents the subjugated and dominated womanhood of the 20th century Indian society. It stars Madhabi Mukherjee in the lead. Rajeshwari portrayed Bindu, a teenage girl who is sheltered by the in-laws of her elder sister. Bindu is considered a burden in the family and is compelled to overwork throughout the entire day. The only person who is kind to her is Mrinal played by Mukherjee. Bindu later marries an insane person and kills herself to end the oppression by her in-laws.[9] Upon release, the film won critical favour.

Rajeshwari took a six-year sabbatical to complete her education and returned to silver screen with Job Charnaker Bibi (1979) based on Pratap Chandra Chunder's novel of the same name.[10] The film starred Soumitra Chatterjee as Job Charnock while she portrayed the role of Leela, Charnock's wife.[11] She performed in the lead opposite Tapas Paul in the drama Rupasi.[12] She featured in Sujit Guha's love-triangle Dolanchanpa (1987) alongside Sandhya Roy and Ranjit Mallick.[13]

Rajeshwari had two daughters, Monoshini Gordon and Priyadarshini Mitra, and a son, Abhishek Mitra. In the late 1980s, she was rumored to have left her husband and settled with Abhishek Chatterjee in his apartment in South Kolkata. Her alleged relationship with Chatterjee was widely speculated about in the media.[3] The speculation appears to have been associated, in part, with Rajeshwari and Chatterjee having worked together in their first film, Jeevan Pradip (the title is incorrectly spelled on Abhishek Chatterjee's Wikipedia page). However, the reported romantic relationship between Rajeshwari and Chatterjee did not take place. Rajeshwari had left her marital home for personal reasons unrelated to Chatterjee and did not leave her husband to begin a relationship with him. She remained with her husband, who was her lifelong partner until the end of her life.

Death

After her separation from Abhishek Chatterjee, Raychowdhury turned alcoholic and eventually developed cirrhosis. In 1994, she died of Hepatitis B in Kolkata.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Ref.
1973 Strir Patra Bindu
1979 Job Charnocker Bibi Leela [11]
1983 Sansarer Itikatha [14]
Utsarga [15]
1984 Rashiphal [16]
Uncle [17]
1986 Abhishap
Anurager Choya
Daktar Bou [18]
Dui Adhyay [19]
Shyam Saheb [20]
Tin Purush
Urbashi
1987 Dabar Chal [21]
Dolan Chanpa Dolan [22]
1988 Aghat [23]
Devibaran Lalita
Deepsikha
Parashmoni
1989 Asha
Jhankar
Shatru Pakhha
Srimati Hangsaraj [24]
1990 Bhanga-Gara [25]
Chakranta
Garmil [26]
Nyaydanda
1991 Jiban Pradip
Prem Pujari
Rajnartaki
Shubho Kamana
1992 Ananya
Krodhi
1993 Krantikal [27]
Shakti
Shanka
1994 Mahabharati
1995 Jiban Yuddha
Mashal
1996 Sinthir Sindur
1997 Sarbajaya
Jiban Sandhan [28]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Biswas 1991, p. 201.
  2. 1 2 "ফিরে দেখা কবিতা সিংহ". Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 "অভিষেকের কোলে বয়সে বড় রাজেশ্বরী, অসম লিভইন সম্পর্ক নিয়ে চর্চা". TheWall (in Bengali). 9 April 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Bangla, Jago (13 January 2024). "খলচরিত্রে বাংলার অভিনেত্রীরা". JagoBangla. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Actor Live In Relation: বয়সে বড় ও তিন সন্তানের মায়ের সঙ্গে লিভ-ইন সম্পর্ক, কেমন ছিল অভিষেক-রাজেশ্বরীর অসম প্রেম কাহিনি?". bengali.indianexpress.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "কেরিয়ারে ধাক্কা, ভুল নারীসঙ্গ, অবসাদ! ভাসান হল টলিউডের কার্তিক ঠাকুরের". ThewWall. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "নারীর রূপকে কবিতা সিংহ নারীর মননশীল অস্তিত্বের শত্রু বলে মনে করতেন". Robbar. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Bangla, TV9 (13 January 2025). "বয়সে ছোট নায়কের সঙ্গে 'লিভ ইন'! কী ভাবে মৃত্যু হয় নায়িকা রাজেশ্বরীর?". TV9 Bangla (in Bengali). Retrieved 22 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "স্ত্রীর পত্র (১৯৭৩)". banglacinema100.com. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  10. ↑ "কলকাতার কড়চা: প্রান্তিক ইতিহাসের অনুসন্ধান" (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  11. 1 2 "জব চার্নকের বিবি (১৯৭৯)". banglacinema100.com. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  12. ↑ "সংলাপ যেন ঠোঁটে লেগে থাকে, বলতেন তাপস". www.anandabazar.com. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "দোলন চাঁপা (১৯৮৭)". banglacinema100.com. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  14. ↑ Sur 1999, p. 207.
  15. ↑ "Utsarga (1983)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  16. ↑ "Rashiphal (1984)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  17. ↑ "Uncle (1984)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  18. ↑ "Daktar Bou (1986)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  19. ↑ "Dui Adhyay (1986)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  20. ↑ "Shyam Saheb (1986)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  21. ↑ "Dabar Chal (1987)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  22. ↑ "Dolanchanpa (1987)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "Aghat (1988)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  24. ↑ "Srimati Hangsaraj (1989)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  25. ↑ "Bhanga Gara (1990)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  26. ↑ "Garmil (1990)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  27. ↑ "Krantikal (1993)". gomolo.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  28. ↑ "Jiban Sandhan (1997)". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

Bibliography

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