Vol 1 Issue 4 | January-March 2022

Sitara Devi

Story by Rupleena Bose | Art by Nayna Yadav

 

Mind the gap!

In 2015, the Live Mint conducted a study of 925 Bollywood films, released between 1990 and 2015, starring the 20 top male actors in the industry. The results of the analysis revealed that the median age gap between male leads and their romantic interest keeps widening as the men grow older. Though male actors grow steadily older, the ages of their romantic interests remain practically unchanged!

It is so common to see this gender age disparity in Bollywood that we often do not realise how ridiculous and unfair it is…

 

Suchitra Sen: the real-life Sitara Rai Devi

The comic ‘Sitara Devi’, written by Rupleena Bose and illustrated by Nayna Yadav, was partly inspired by the life story of the legendary Bengali actress Suchitra Sen. Once the darling of Bengal, for decades her face would be on posters all over Kolkata. In her 25+ year career, she acted in 61 films. Then, in 1978, she mysteriously retired and totally withdrew from the public eye, rarely to be seen again. She remained reclusive until her death in 2014. Many have speculated about the reasons for her self-imposed oblivion over the years.

 

Cabin culture

In ‘Sitara Devi’, Mrs. Malick and her friend go to a ‘tea and cutlet cabin’ to catch up on some juicy news. These iconic cabins of Kolkata date back some 150 years, from when the British ruled India. They had divided compartments made of plywood and heavy curtains, to offer women dining out some privacy. Deep-fried delicacies, influenced by the presence of the Portuguese and the British in West Bengal, are served in these cabins, which make them a popular draw for both tourists and locals alike.