Kolkata :
To mark the 75th birthday of veteran actress Madhabi Mukherjee, a special programme will be held on Saturday at Nandan. The Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) is hosting this programme along with Shilpi Sangsad and Nandan that will see a host of dignitaries speaking about the actress followed by a screening of “Baishey Srabon”.
While her remarkable prowess in acting has often been spoken about, what has hardly been highlighted is Mukherjee’s philanthropic nature.
Said her daughter Mimi Bhattacharya, “Maa would buy umpteen bottles of pickles sold by an ageing actress only to help her tide through crisis. There were times when we wouldn’t even need that much. Yet, she bought them because that was her way of helping the veteran actress.”
She was among the few who had extended financial help to Ray actor lying on his deathbed in a government hospital. During that time, she was invited to Sonagachhi to attend a programme organised to launch the Babu Samity.
Premendra Mazumdar, who is the former general secretary of the Federation of Film Societies of India, was also one of the speakers. Addressing the sex-workers, Mukherjee had given a fiery speech that day. “‘Both you and I work with our bodies. We use our bodies in a certain way when we perform as actors. You use your bodies differently in your profession. But never be ashamed of what you are doing,’ she had said,” recalled Mazumder.
During her speech, she had referred to how this actor was once in relationship with a lady from that area. “Suddenly, we saw a lady in the crowd weeping profusely. She was the one with whom he had had this relationship. Spontaneously, the girls collected money for his treatment. This lady then accompanied Madhabi-di back to the hospital and stayed there till he died,” recounted Mazumder.
Even her decision to join politics was driven by her urge to help the workers who had lost their job when the Star Theatre was gutted down by a fire. “Maa was crest-fallen. Along with Soumitra kaku (Soumitra Chatterjee), Maa had approached Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to see if something could be done. There were some litigation issues. But Buddhababu never informed her that he wouldn’t be able to do much. That hurt Maa a lot. Later on, when Subrata Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee had approached maa to join politics, she had first asked if they would do anything for Star theatre. When they had said yes, she had counted 1,2,3 under her breath and said yes,” Mimi said. Losing the polls wasn’t an issue for her. “Maa had to contest against him and was ready to face the consequences,” Mimi said.
However, Mukherjee herself has never liked to highlight the way she has helped others. “It is not about only reaching out to people from the industry. I connect with human beings and try to do my bit to help them,” she said, happy that she has been able to make a difference in people’s lives.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News / TNN / February 10th, 2017