In the 1950s and 1960s Bengali cinema remained enamored by Suchitra Sen. her beauty and acting prowess enthralled the audience for years. To top it all her paring with Uttam Kumar rendered Suchitra Sen a cult status. She was one of the most sought after heroines of that age. The roles of the tragic heroine became popular after Suchitra Sen. armed with a million dollar smile and an impressive personality Suchitra Sen easily won the heart of the audiences.

Suchitra Sen`s first film was Shesh Kothaye in 1952. However she was first paired with Uttam Kumar in 1953 in the film Sharey Chuattar, directed by Nirmal Dey. This film was a romantic comedy and is even remembered today for its comedy and the funny dialogues. Post Sharey Chuattar Uttam Suchira worked in several films together as the lead pair. some of their memorable films together are Shap Mochan (1955), Sagarika (1956), Harano Sur (1957), Indrani (1958), Chaowa-Paowa (1959), Saptapadi (1961), Bipasha (1962), Grihadaha (1967), Saptapadi and others. Saptapadi was a dream role for Suchitra Sen. playing the role of an Anglo Indian girl was a huge challenge for her. Set against the backdrop of Second World War her character, Rina Brown, established Suchitra Sen as one of the most talented Bengali female actors in India.

Born as Roma Sen she delivered her career best performance in Deep Jweley Jai (1959). Suchitra Sen essayed the character of Radha, a nurse at the hospital that deal with psychiatric patients. She is expected to develop personal relations with patients as a part of their therapy. Basanta Choudhury starred opposite her in this particular time. While playacting she herself falls in love with one of the patients. As he gets better he forgets her completely. Radha is made to go through the same situations when Basanta Choudhury appears. This time it takes a toll on her health and she loses her sanity. The last scene of the film is unforgettable where she Suchitra Sen is laughing and then she suddenly breaks down into tears. Suchitra Sen was outstanding in Deep Jweley Jai. The film was remade in Hindi by Asit Sen with Waheeda Rehman and Rajesh Khanna in the lead.

Another landmark film in Suchitra Sen`s career was Uttar Falguni (1963), directed by Asit Sen. Once again Suchitra left the audiences spell bound with her role of a courtesan in the film. She played the double character of mother and daughter. Pannabai, the protagonist is determined to see her daughter well positioned in society so that she does not face the same kind of environment as her mother. Her daughter becomes a lawyer. Inspite of being a courtesan Pannabai is shown with lot of dignity and will power. She goes to the extent of killing her husband when he threatens to spill the beans to their daughter. The last scene is a court scene where the daughter comes to know about everything, acknowledges her and defends her mother. This film too was remade in Hindi as Mamta with Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra alongside Suchitra Sen herself.

Saat Pake Bandha (1963) with Soumitra Chatterjee established Suchitra Sen as the undisputable queen of Bengali films. The film dealt with a married couple, Archana and Sukhendu. Sukhendu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is a simple University Lecturer and not as well of as his spouse. His mother-in-law, played by Chhaya Devi, is not too happy with the match and keeps on reminding him about his poverty. Her excessive interference into Archana`s marital life destroys her marriage completely. Suchitra`s portrayal of the Archana was without doubt the best she has ever done. The legendary actress was duly rewarded with the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1963. Saat Pake Bandha, too, was remade in Hindi with Jaya Bachchan essaying the same character.

Suchitra Sen also made her foray into Hindi films but these were less successful barring a few. Her first Hindi film was Bimal Roy`s Devdas (1955) where she enacted the role of Parvati and later went onto play leading roles in Musafir (1957) by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Champakali (1957), Bombay ka Babu (1960) and Aandhi (1975). The latter saw her in the role of a lady politician who sacrifices her personal life. Suchitra Sen starred opposite Sanjeev Kumar and the flick was directed by Gulzar.

Suchitra Sen was part of the following films:

Year	Film	Year	Film
1953	Saat Number Kayedi	1957	Champakali
1953	Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya	1958	Rajlakshmi O Srikanta
1953	Saare Chuattor	1958	SuryaToran
1953	Kajori	1958	Indrani
1954	Sadanander Mela	1959	Deep Jwele Jai
1954	Agnipariksha	1959	Chaaowa Pawoa
1954	Ora Thaake Odhare	1960	Hospital
1954	Grihaprabesh	1960	Smriti Tuku Thaak
1954	Atom Bomb	1960	Bombai Kaa Babu
1954	Dhuli	1960	Sarhad
1954	Maraner Parey	1961	Saptapadi
1954	Balaygraas	1961	Saathihara
1954	Annapurnar Mandir	1962	Bipasha
1955	Shapmochan	1963	Saat Paake Badha
1955	Sabar Upare	1963	Uttar Phalguni
1955	Snaajhghar	1964	Sandhya Deeper Sikha
1955	Devdas	1966	Mamta
1955	Snaajher Pradeep	1967	Grihadaha
1955	Mejo Bou	1969	Kamallata
1955	Bhalabaasa	1970	Megh Kalo
1956	Sagarika	1971	Fariyaad
1956	Trijama	1971	Nabaraag
1956	Amar Bou	1972	Alo Amaar Alo
1956	Shilpi	1972	Haar Maana Haar
1956	Ekti Raat	1974	Debi Choudhurani
1956	Subharaatri	1974	Srabana Sandhya
1957	Harano Sur	1975	Priyo Bandhabi
1957	Pathe Holo Deri	1975	Aandhi
1957	Jeeban Trishna	1976	Datta
1957	Chandranath	1978	Pranoy Pasha

By 1978 Suchitra Sen, the most beloved actress of the Bengali silver screen had retired. After her retirement she chose to live in seclusion and avoided public appearance completely. As she bid goodbye to acting the Bengali cinema was left behind with a void that hardly had any chances to be filled in the coming years.