Actress Suchitra Sen dies in Kolkata

"At around 8-25 am in the morning she died from a cardiac arrest. I think her death is very sad news for us. It is a big loss and a day of great sorrow. We are devastated. She wanted her last rites peacefully. I want your cooperation so that she can be cremated without any problem," said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after reaching the hospital.

"She was a wonder. She was not just a legend. She could keep herself away from limelight like this," said Banerjee.

Sen, whom almost none had seen for decades after she retired from films in 1978, was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic in Kolkata with respiratory tract infection on Dec 24.

Suchitra Sen, who had acted in several Bollywood movies too opposite actors like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Sanjeev Kumar, had regaled Bengali audience for decades with his romantic pairing with Uttam Kumar.

She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972. She had reportedly refused India\'s highest film award Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005, since accepting the award would have meant appearing in public to collect it.

Suchitra Sen\'s daughter Moonmoon Sen and her grand daughters Raima and Riya are all actors.

Born in Pabna in Bangladesh on April 6, 1931 in undivided India, Suchitra Sen was Rama Dasgupta and after marriage Rama Sen. After joining films she was given the screen name Suchitra Sen.

The Garbosque life of more than three decades and half has only mystified the aura around Suchitra Sen. As the screen goddess of Bengali cinema whom India remembers for her Bollywood roles in films like Devdas, Bombai ka Babu and Aandhi had begun her career in 1953 with the film Saat Number Kayedi though another film in which she acted was never released.

Bengali film audience will always remember her for many roles with Uttam Kumar including in films like Saptapadi, Sagarika and Pathe Holo Deri.

She got international award too in Moscow for her role in the 1963 film Saath Pake Badha opposite Soumitra Chatterjee.