If we look back at the chequered history of women-oriented mainstream cinema, we always see the Bengali tigresses extending their clause to a point beyond convention. Take your mind back to those two masterpieces, Mamta and Aandhi featuring Suchitra Sen. Both the male leads (Ashok Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar) played roles akin to Palash in Filhaal.
Both Dadamoni and Haribhai sportingly stepped back into the shadows to let the Enchanting Enigma from Bengal shine in the arclights. Suchitra Sen isn’t the only Bengali actress to be privileged. Sanjeev Kumar repeatedly stepped aside for his Bengali co-stars Sharmila Tagore in Charitraheen, Mausam and Namkeen, Jaya Bhaduri in Anamika, and Raakhee in Trishna.
What’s it about the Bengali actresses that make our habitually vain male stars shed their plumes? Customarily, a heroine-oriented commercial film goes through hell trying to find the male 'Other'. An actress of Tabu’s stature finds herself acutely short-staffed in the male department. Ramesh Sippy had to drop the film that he wanted to make with Tabu in the lead.
And she had to make do with Atul Kulkarni in Chandni Bar. Shah Rukh Khan agreed to play Sridevi’s prop in the Army. But only because he’s her diehard fan and on condition that his role be billed as a guest appearance.
Going by the size of the heroine’s role in an average Hindi film, they should all be billed as guest stars. Not the Bengali brigade, though. From Suchitra Sen to Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bachchan, an.
