Prafullabala

Born in early 20th century Prafullabala was the only living child of a tyrannical father but a kind hearted mother. As a child she was interested in music and dance which came to her naturally but was never allowed to practice much because singing and dancing were considered undignified and dirty in those days. She was married off at the age of ten as demanded by society in those days but was horrified to find out that her husband was mentally dis-balanced. Finding no possibility of getting help from any source to be rid of her husband and cruel in laws, she took the extreme step of running away from her home which in those days meant that she would remain a social outcast for the rest of her life. It was fate that brought her to the doorsteps of Mr Nripen Majumdar, a big name then for Calcutta's radio station. Through his efforts it did not take time for her to get associated with the Bengali stage under the noble guidance of Sisir Kumar Bhaduri. In time she became one of the popular singing actresses in films, on the stage and over the radio. However with changing times, roles coming to her became less and less and in the new life that she had got in association of Nripen Majumdar also fell apart and in due time was forgotten by all. Poverty was her only companion those days and it was through actress Sova Sen's mediation that she got a film role in Mrinal Sen's Akash Kusum after a long gap of nearly thirty years. She also got a role in the film Swapna Niye. Her last days were spent in the slums although she received meagre help from the state government and was also one of the beneficiaries of Mahila Shilpi Mahal.