Actor
Karuna Banerjee
Born December 25, 1919 in Khulna, Bangladesh
Died November 13, 20019 films
Karuna Banerjee (Bengali: করুণা ব্যানার্জী) was a Bengali actress best known for her role in Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 1959 BAFTA Awards for her performance in Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. She appeared in a number of other films after that, including Ray's Devi (1960) and Kanchenjungha (1962).
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She graduated from the Jogamaya Devi College, an affiliated women's college of the University of Calcutta. Banerjee's acting career expanded over more than two decades in Bengali cinema and theatre. She is best known for her memorable performance as Sarbajaya, the mother in the first two parts of Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1956). Her performance in the latter earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 1959 BAFTA Awards. She acted in a few more films, including two more by Ray, two by Mrinal Sen, and one by Ritwik Ghatak that was never officially released.
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The best way into Karuna Banerjee's work
First watchPather Panchali19557.8as Sarbajaya RoyImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.View filmEssential films
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Filmography
9 films as actor- 1972Calcutta 71
- 1971Interview
- 1962KanchenjunghaLabanya Roy Chaudhuri
- 1960DeviHarasundari
- 1959HeadmasterLabanya
- 1959Shubha BibahaMeja-boudi
- 1958Manmoyee Girls' School
- 1956AparajitoSarbajaya Roy
- 1955Pather PanchaliSarbajaya Roy