On the anniversary of Suchitra Sen's birth, the actor spoke about how she refused to work with Raj Kapoor "almost immediately" after receiving his offer.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Suchitra Sen primarily worked in Bengali film. Sen was not only seen in Bengali films, but she also appeared in a few Hindi films. Regardless of the language of the film, she was very picky about which films she wanted to do.
It is well-known that Suchitra refused to collaborate with Satyajit Ray because he wanted her to only act in his film, despite the fact that she had other commitments. Suchitra made her debut in Hindi cinema alongside Dilip Kumar in the 1955 film Devdas. However, one of her most well-known roles in Hindi cinema was in Gulzar's Aandhi, in which she played a character who was said to be based on Indira Gandhi. However, she once refused to work with Raj Kapoor because she "did not like his personality," which is not widely known.
In a talk with Amitabha Choudhury for his book Aamar Bondhu Suchitra Sen, she shared that she denied Raj Kapoor's proposition "very quickly." She was said to have stated, "I don't look for beauty in men." I look for sharp conversations and intelligence. Raj Kapoor's offer was rejected almost immediately. He came to my house and offered to play the lead role. As I sat down, he suddenly sat near my foot and gave me a bouquet of roses in exchange for the role. I turned down the offer. I could have done without his character. He behaved in a way that was not appropriate for a man, sitting next to my foot.
In January of 2014, Suchitra passed away.