ARUNDHATI'S METHOD

Arundhati Devi was among Tollywood's leading ladies in the '60s. Unlike her more glamorous peers like Suchitra Sen, her films were an interplay of art and social consciousness. An ongoing exhibition in Delhi reconstructs not just the career of a Bengali actor but the worldview of a truly modern woman.

- UTHAMA SANKARANARAYANAN

AN old Bangla song softly lingers through the halls of the India International Centre in Delhi, where memories of the legendary actor, singer, and filmmaker Arundhati Devi (born Arundhati Guha-Thakurta) come alive in a moving archival exhibition titled, 'A Star Named Arundhati'. Curated by Mrinalini Vasudevan and Tapati Guha-Thakurta, the exhibition unfolds the story of a woman who helped shape the cultural imagination of a generation through her bold choices and commanding presence.

Born into a distinguished Bengali family, Arundhati grew up amid literature, music, and reformist thought.

Her years at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan immersed her in Rabindranath Tagore's aesthetic philosophy, while Gandhian ideals of discipline and moral clarity shaped her worldview. These influences instilled a conviction that art could transform society, offering reflection, resistance, and ethical engagement.

Candid family photographs siblings laughing, friends in quiet conversation -reveal the private warmth behind the poised public figure, hinting at the empathy she later brought to her performances.