Debashree Roy Pic images with whatsapp number and contact address

Roy was born to Birendra Kishore Roy and Arati Roy in Kolkata, West Bengal and was brought up there as well. She is the juniormost among the six siblings. She made her film debut as a child artist in Hiranmoy Sen's Pagol Thakur (1966). She again appeared as a child artist in Hiranmoy Sen's Balak Gadadhar (1969). Her first stage performance took place when she was barely three years old. Initially she took her dancing lessons from her mother, her eldest sister and then Bandana Sen. later on she was trained by Kelucharan Mahapatra.

In 1971, at the age of 9, she became a starlet after she portrayed the character of Ranu in Tarun Majumdar's Bengali Thriller Kuheli (inspired from Rebecca), a film directed by Tarun Majumdar. This film was a blockbuster. In this film Roy essayed daughter to Biswajit Chatterjee and Sandhya Roy. She played the character of a little girl who, every night, stealthily goes out to meet a mysterious woman whom she believes to be her mother. In all these films, she was credited by the name Miss Chumki.

Initial struggle (1978–1981)

In 1978, Roy appeared as an adult actress opposite Mithun Chakraborty in Arabinda Mukherjee's Bengali film Nadi Theke Sagare (1978) which was a major commercial success.^[27] She was credited as Rumki Roy In this film. She went on acting in several films like in Kushali Goshthi's Aguner Fulki (1978), Ajit Gangopadhyay's Lattu (1979), Swadesh Sarkar's Jiban Jerakam (1979), Nirmal Sarbanga's G. T. Road (1980). In all these films, she was credited as Rumki Roy. She acted opposite Prem Nazir in N. Sankaran Nair's Malayalam film Ee Ganam Marakkumo (1978). The film was a major commercial as well as a critical failure.^[28] In 1980, she appeared in Tarun Majumdar's romantic drama film Dadar Kirti and was credited as Debashree Roy for the first time. The name was given by Tarun Majumdar himself. In the film, she portrayed the character of Bini, the innocent sibling of Saraswati portrayed by Mahua Roychoudhury. The film became a giant hit and her role and vibrant appearance was enormously loved by the audience, alongside the reverse and solemn appearance of Mahua Roychoudhury. She was again cast in the role of the chirpy sibling of Mahua Roychoudhury in Manu Sen's blockbuster Bengali film Subarnagolak (1981). She also appeared in Dilip Mukherjee's Bengali film Father (1981). In 1981, Roy appeared in Aparna Sen's much acclaimed English film 36 Chowringhee Lane. She portrayed the character of Nandita who, along with her boyfriend Samaresh exploits her former teacher's apartment for making love to each other.^[29] The film was a major failure at box office, still Roy was applauded by media personalities due to her good look and unlaboured screen presence.^[30] In the same year, she appeared in Kanak Mishra's Hindi film Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981) under Rajashri Productions. She played the love interest of Arun Govil in the film.

Prime success (1982–2007)

In 1982, she appeared in Tarun Majumdar's Bengali film Meghmukti. In the same year, she went on to appear in Goutam Mukherjee's blockbuster Bengali film Troyee. She was paired with Mithun Chakraborty in the film. The success of the film brought her leading roles in the following Bengali films like Aparupa (1982), Samapti (1983) and Agamikal (1983). In 1982, she appeared in Desh Gautam's Bura Aadmi.^[31] In the same year she appeared in K. Raghavendra Rao's multistarer Hindi film Justice Chaudhury alongside Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee and Sridevi.

In 1984, she appeared in Mukul Dutt's Hindi film Phulwari under Rajashri Productions. In the film, Roy portrayed the character of Lali, a beautiful, conceited and pampered girl who insults her boyfriend Rajiv on the day of their engagement and discloses to everyone present at her engagement party that she has given consent to marry him because she wanted to avenge an earlier incident when he humiliated her in front of public. She was paired with Shashi Puri in this film. She was also paired with Kanowaljit Singh in Akash Jain's film Seepeeyan (1984) where she portrayed the role of a beautiful woman who flings herself into water after her boyfriend refused to marry her and is saved by one another man whom she later gets married to. In 1984, she was cast in the role of Kundanadinee in Ajay Kar's Bengali period film Bishabriksha based on the veteran Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. She appeared in Dipranjan Bose's Bengali drama film Parabat Priya (1984) alongside Tapas Paul and Mahua Roychoudhury where she played the character of Piyali, a highly pampered girl who decides to poison a glass of milk that her husband was supposed to take.

In 1985, she was paired with Sandeep Patil in Kabhi Ajnabi The (1985) directed and produced by Vijay Singh. She played the character of Geeta who decides to sacrifice her love for the sake another woman who had previously been her boyfriend's ladylove. The film was over-hyped regarding the Bollywood debut of Sandeep Patil and Roy's sensuous enacting with him in the song sequence Geet Mere Hothon Ko De Gaya Koi, and assumed to be a huge hit at box office.^[32] Filmfare wrote "With those cohl eyes and her figure scantily coverd with, she looked enthralling yet she looked coy enough." Her performance in this film earned her the Calcutta and National Unity Award for Best Supporting Actress in Hindi Cinema.^[33] Unfortunately the film became a major failure causing a doom to her Bollywood career.^[19] In 1985, she was cast opposite Tapas Paul in Tarun Majumdar's romantic drama Bhalobasa Bhalobasa. This film established Roy's pairing with Tapas Paul as the leading on-screen pairing of nineteen eighties.^[34] Her other major hits with Paul are Uttar Lipi (1986), Arpan (1987), Shankhachur (1988), Surer Sathi (1988), Surer Akashe (1988), Nayanmani (1989), Chokher Aloy (1989), Shubha Kamana (1991), Mayabini (1992), Phire Paoa (1993), Tobu Mone Rekho (1994), Putrabadhu (1998).

In 1988, Roy portrayed the character of Satyavati, the second wife of Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur in the televised version of the Indian epic Mahabharata, by B.R.Chopra.

Roy also delivered hits with Prosenjit Chatterjee and Chiranjeet Chakraborty. She was paired with Chiranjeet Chakraborty for the first time in Madhumoy (1986) which also stars Prosenjit Chatterjee and Mahua Roychoudhury. Her pairing with Chakraborty conveyed major hits like Mouna Mukhar (1987), Heerer Shikal (1988), Papi (1990), Tomar Rakte Amar Sohag (1993), Bhoy (1996), Beyadap (1996), Jiban Jouban (1997), Joddha (1987), Debanjali (2000).

In 1987, she was paired with Prosenjit Chatterjee in Bimal Ray's Samrat O Sundari. The film was a major hit and gave acknowledgement to Roy's pairing with Prosenjit Chatterjee as a bankable one. Her other hits with Chatterjee are Ora Charjon (1988), Jhankar (1989), Ahankar (1991), Raktelekha (1992), Purushottam (1992), Rakter Swad (1993), Shraddhanjali (1993), Nati Binodini (1994). Roy was paired with Chatterjee for the last time in Rituparno Ghosh's much acclaimed film Unishe April (1994). Roy essayed the role of Aditi who decides to commit suicide after her boyfriend refused her to marry but gets interrupted by her mother. India Today described her performance as an "inspired performance by Roy, who has so far been mired in Bengali commercial cinema."^[35] The film won her the National Film Award for Best Actress category.^[36] In the same year she appeared in Cinemay Jeman Hoy.

Roy portrayed the role of Sarada Devi in Swami Vivekananda(1998 film). She appeared in Tapan Sinha's Bengali film Ajab Ganyer Ajab Katha (1998) under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films. She appeared in a cameo role in Tapan Sinha's Hindi film Daughters of This Century (1999). In 1999, she appeared in Rituparno Ghosh's Asukh landing the character of Rohini Choudhury, an actress who is suspicious by nature and begins to suspect her father to be an HIV positive due to some illegitimate relation she is not aware of.

The film became a commercial as well as a major critical success. It won her Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Actress Award in 2000.^[38]

She appeared in Subrata Sen's Ek Je Achhe Kanya (2001) which was major commercial success. She was paired with Sabyasachi Chakrabarty in this film. She appeared in Goutam Ghose's much acclaimed Bengali film Dekha (2001) alongside Soumitra Chatterjee. In 2002, she appeared in Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's much acclaimed film Shilpantar. She played the character of a woman who works in a circus and draws mass by her act of eating raw live snake or hen. In the same year she played the character of Kadambari Devi in Sukanta Ray's film Chhelebela alongside Jisshu Sengupta playing Rabindranath Tagore.^[39]

In 2004, she appeared in Subhadro Chowdhury's National Award winning film Prohor^[40] where she played the character of Nadita who donates her blood for a man who raped her earlier. In 2005, she appeared in Bratya Basu's Teesta. The film was a critical and commercial failure, still it earns her Anandalok Award for Best Actress in 2005.^[41] After a series of flops like Satabdir Golpo (2004), Sagar Kinare (2004), Ami Je Ke Tomar (2004) and Teesta (2005) she was paired with Mithun Chakrabarty in blockbuster films like Yuddho (2005), MLA Fatakesto (2006) and Mahaguru (2007).

Setback (2008–2013)

From 2008 Roy made some impolitic choices of selecting films that did not equalize her stature and led her career into a major setback. She had a series of flops like Antarbas (2010), Thikana Rajpath (2010), Jibon Rong Berong (2011), Bhalo Meye Mondo Meye (2012), Life in Park Street (2012), Antare Bahire (2012), Swabhumi (2013) to name a few. She appeared in Goutam Sen's Bengali feature film Pakhi which once again became a box office failure but Roy was credited for her performance in the film. The Times of India wrote, "Debasree Roy gives a steller performance with her act of a blind girl."^[42] In 2010, she appeared in Gaurav Pandey's film Shukno Lanka where she portrayed the character of a loving woman whose husband is indifferent to her. The film was a major hit at box office^[43] and her dance to the popular number Sundari Kamala was enormously loved by audience.

Roy was trained in Odissi by Kelucharan Mahapatra. In 1991, she formed her troupe Natraj. In 1991, she was hailed for Vasavdatta, a production by Natraj. It was a dance-drama where she translated classical Indian dance forms and their iconography into a solemn contemporary dance movements. It was based on Abhisar, a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. She enacted the role of Vasabdatta, a celebrated coutesan who meets a young mendicant on her way and pleads him to accept her hospitality at her home. The mendicant assures her that he will accept only when the right time will come. Later Vasavdatta is banished and left alone outside of her city as she has formed a contaminated disease. The mendicant comes, takes her into his arms and says that the time has come. Roy was careful enough regarding the sobriety and delicacy while rehearsing it. Vasavdatta got full seat occupancy every time it was staged.

Roy was exposed to Indian folk dances as well by Kelucharan Mohapatra and took a keen and sincere interest to adapt them on stage. She ventured into an attempt to manifest the forms of folk dances of Bengal in Swapner Sandhane, the much acclaimed production of Natraj. She was most applauded for her wider attempt to present the various forms of Indian folk dance in Bichitro, the first abroad production of Natraj. The project was critically acclaimed in western media. It was regarded as a valuable workshop on south-eastern Asian culture by Pariscope. Bhashyo wrote, “She created a jugglery with those rapid change in posture and movement.”

Roy had an interrupted dance career due to her commitment to film industry. She was always in a dilemma regarding which to focus primarily on between dance and film. After the major success of Bichitro Roy was persuaded by some of her close ones to pay priority to her dance over her film career as she was regarded as much more excellent as a dancer than an actress. As Roy was, at that time, the most bankable female star of Bengali cinema, directors and producers did not want her to focus less on her film career. Besides Roy was getting offered to essay a lot of substantial roles and she did not want to refuse them for the sake of her stage career. Later on she ventured into Fusion art and collaborated with Taaltantra in some of their tours. She rendered the nine moods of Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra in Navaras where she exhibited an innovative dance form imbued with elements from Indian classical, tribal and folk dance.^[44][45] She has been acclaimed for her vigour while dancing and to sustain this she has always been careful enough regarding the selection of the colour for her costumes, which ranged from tint, tone and shade to exotic ones. She was also acclaimed for her use of mirrors and curtains on stage, which she claimed to have been used to vivify her presentation.^[46]

Debashree, currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly from All India Trinamool Congress, successfully contested the West Bengal assembly elections 2011 against CPI(M) candidate and former minister Kanti Ganguly, from the Raidighi.^[47]

In 1983, Roy met Sandeep Patil on the set of Kabhi Ajnabi The and they both fell in love with each other. However they separated in 1985 and never publicly discussed anything about their separation.^[48][32] She was married to Bengali actor Prasenjit Chatterjee for a brief period.^[49] She is the maternal aunt of Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee.^[50]

Selected filmography