Breaking Barriers: Swastika Mukherjee

The bonafide movie star of Bengali cinema is winning over national audiences with her poignant portrayals one OTT outing at a time

- Ananya Ghosh

One of my favourite movie characters of 2022 was undoubtedly Qala's Urmila Manjushree - renowned thumri singer and the sole surviving member of a family that is considered as the music royalty struggling to keep its legacy alive. Living in a society deeply rooted in the patriarchy of the 1930s, where women musicians ran the risk of becoming courtesans, rather than having a career as professional singers, Urmila has time and again gotten the short end of the stick despite her immense talent just because of her gender, she hopes for a male heir to pass on the mantle. Her hopes are dashed when between her twins, she loses her son and her daughter survives. But she has no time to wallow in her sorrow; there is no help for her severe post-partum depression. Instead, she puts all her focus on making her daughter a capable artiste. Her maternal instincts are smothered by her zeal to create a worthy protégé.

In Urmila, Anvitaa Dutt creates one of Hindi cinema's most layered and complex women. And it is Swastika Mukherjee who brings her to life. The gorgeous actor, who has been Bengali cinema's favourite femme fatale, might have seemed an unusual casting choice for the stoic and grim mother, but as Urmila Manjushree, she is perfection personified with her hazel green eyes steeped in melancholia. Hers is a heartbreaking portrayal of a woman struggling with her inner demons, as well as a deeply patriarchal society, who inadvertently drive her daughter to her doom.