9 Notable Families Of Bengali Cinema You Should Know About

Suchitra Sen, the daughter-in-law of industrialist Adinath Sen, was born to rule the film industry like nobody did, ever. Being born to the 'Mahanayika', Munmun Sen too tried her luck on the silver screen but couldn't match her mother's charisma. Among the granddaughters of Mrs. Sen, Raima Sen is known for essaying leads in middle-of-the-road films in Bengal, however, Riya is trying hard to make her own niche.

When a young Biswajit Chatterjee started delivering hits like 'Mayamriga', 'Dui Bhai' 'Bees Saal Baad' and more, little did anyone know that he is establishing a legacy that will be carried forward by his son Prosenjit Chatterjee, who will be the reigning star of the Bengali film industry for three decades. Biswajit's daughter Pallavi also acted on the big screen and did decently well for her. Prosenjits’s wife Arpita and ex-wife Debashree also are actresses who have graced the silver screen at one point or other.

The name of Sabyasachi Chakraborty became identical to our much-loved Feluda from the time Sandip Ray roped him in for playing Bengal's favorite detective. His wife Mithu Chakraborty is also a familiar face to the audience of Bangla cinema and TV. Stared with highly acclaimed and discussed TV series, 'Gaaner Opare', his sons, Gaurav and Arjun Chakraborty are doing films and TV simultaneously. Gaurav, who gained popularity being TV's Byomkesh, will be seen on 'Colkatay Columbus' soon.

An esteemed filmmaker and a film historian, Chidananda Dasgupta was one of the founders of the Calcutta Film Society. Being the deserved descendant to her father, Aparna Sen, the famous actress and filmmaker needs no introduction. No wonder, Konkona Sen Sharma, who shares the same gene, will be a powerful performer and now she has debuted in direction too.

Ashok Kumar, the 'Dadamani' of Bollywood also contributed in the growth of Bangla cinema. His second brother, who took the screen name of Anoop Kumar didn't shine in Bengali films, but it was Kishore Kumar, the iconic singer and actor, whose involvement became memorable for everyone. Made under his production, 'Lukochuri' is now considered as one of the finest comedies of all time. His songs are great wealth of Tollywood.

Bollywood's famous Mukherjee family, which owes its name and fame to Sashadhar Mukherjee, the brother in law of Ashok Kumar and founder of Filmistan studio, has some Tolly-connection as well. Although Joy, Shomu, and Deb Mukherjee didn't appear in any Bangla movie, Tanuja, the wife of Shomu Mukherjee made an impact, starring in 'Antony Firingi', 'Deya Neya', 'Tee Bhubaner Paare', and others. Sasadhar's grand niece Rani Mukherjee debuted in Tollywood before she became the leading lady of Bollywood. She is also related to our very own Debashree Roy.

Not everyone knows that Bonny Sengupta, the young heartthrob of contemporary Tollywood carries a strong family legacy with him. His father Anup Sengupta had directed some films, among them Tapas Pal and Debasree Roy starrer 'Subhokamona' was a hit. However, the history doesn't end here. Bonny's mother Piya Sengupta, who has also acted in a few movies, is the daughter of Sukhen Das, a successful actor and director of his time.

Anjana Bhowmik was one of the most prominent actresses to star opposite Mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Her elder daughter Nilanjana Sengupta won BFJA most promising actress award for her debut movie 'Swapner Feriwala' before settling down with her husband Jisshu Sengupta. Chandana Sharma, the younger daughter of Anjana Bhowmik, however, failed to make a mark in Tollywood and left Tollywood for working on National TV.