From Balika Badhu to Piku: Moushumi Chatterjee’s 77-year journey

Moushumi Chatterjee’s cinematic journey began with Tarun Majumdar’s Bengali superhit Balika Badhu. She was just 19 at the time, but in this touching tale based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story Samapti, she portrayed a much younger child-bride. Years later, Jaya Bhaduri would reprise the same role in Uphaar. In fact, Moushumi’s cinematic fate seems curiously intertwined with Jaya’s.

Moushumi recalls being signed on for Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi — the 1970 classic that catapulted Jaya into instant stardom. Hrishikesh Mukherjee, a close family friend of her father-in-law, the legendary singer-composer Hemant Mukherjee, had offered her the role after seeing her. But Moushumi was never informed when the project was quietly handed over to Jaya.

Guddi wasn’t the only major film she lost to Jaya. In 1972, Gulzar began shooting Koshish with Sanjeev Kumar and Moushumi. Then, almost overnight, she was replaced by Jaya. No explanations were offered. When I once asked Moushumi directly about Koshish, her response was uncharacteristically guarded, “I would never compromise my dignity for a role. Koshish is a chapter best forgotten and buried. Many years later, Gulzar (no ‘Saab’, please note) signed me for Angoor, again with Haribhai (Sanjeev Kumar). There is something called justice in this world.”

This evasiveness is rare from someone as outspoken as Moushumi. Amitabh Bachchan once confessed that working with her made him nervous — “You never knew what she might say next.” Their collaborations, including Benaam and Manzil, didn’t fare well at the box office, though decades later they finally scored a hit together with Shoojit Sircar’s Piku. “He said I hadn’t changed,” Moushumi laughs. “And why should I? I’m still the same mooh-phat Indu. I’ve never hesitated to call a spade a spade. People fear my unstoppable tongue — especially those who waste all their energy trying to be diplomatic.”

Diplomacy, clearly, is not Moushumi’s style. While being directed by Aparna Sen in The Chinese Wife, she accused the filmmaker of making her look old and tired out of jealousy. Aparna wisely chose not to respond.

After her Hindi film debut in Shakti Samanta’s Anuraag, Moushumi quickly became associated with a string of hits. Her second Hindi release, Kuchhe Dhaage, was directed by Raj Khosla. So impressed was Khosla by her potent mix of innocence and oomph that he cast her again in Prem Kahani opposite Rajesh Khanna. But Khanna wanted his favourite heroine, Mumtaz — and once again, Moushumi was replaced.

“Story of my life,” the eternal Balika Badhu chuckles.

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