Rachna Banerjee

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Rachna Banerjee
Rachna Banerjee in 2020
Born
Jhumjhum Banerjee

(1974-10-02) 2 October 1974 (age 49)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
(present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Occupation(s)Actress, television presenter
Years active1990 – present
Notable work
TitleMiss Calcutta 1991
Political partyAll India Trinamool Congress (2024-present)
Spouses
(m. 2003; div. 2004)
Probal Basu
(m. 2007; sep. 2016)
Children1
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major
competition(s)

Rachna Banerjee (born Jhumjhum Banerjee;[2] 2 October 1974[3][4] also known as Rachana, is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and television presenter. She is known primarily for her works in Bengali and Odia films, besides a few Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films.[5] Being crowned the 1991 Miss Kolkata, she has also won five beauty contests in India including Miss Beautiful Smile at the Miss India contest.[6]

Early life[edit]

Banerjee was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India, and was her parents' only child. Her father was Rabindranath Banerjee.[7] Her original name was Jhumjhum Banerjee,[8] and was changed to Rachana by Sukhen Das, the director of her debut film Daan Pratidaan (1993).

Career[edit]

Banerjee won the Miss Kolkata contest in 1991 when she was still in her second year of graduation course from South City College. She entered several beauty pageants before starting her acting career and was often declared 'Miss Beautiful Smile'. In 1994 she missed out of the Miss India contest grand finale where Madhu Sapre was crowned the title. Banerjee's breakthrough role was with director Sukhen Das who changed her name to Rachana (which Das found in 'Rabindra Rachanabali'). Her biggest success in film career comes when she played the female lead opposite Siddhant Mahapatra in about 40 movies. She appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan in the film Sooryavansham, one of the cult movies of its era. She has appeared in 35 Bengali films with her favourite actor Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Hosting Didi No. 1[edit]

Apart from acting, Banerjee is also hosting the popular Bengali non-fiction TV show, Didi No. 1, which is aired on Zee Bangla on weekdays. On 5 April 2013 a fire broke out in the studio of Didi No. 1 at Tollygunge, and she fainted following a panic attack and was rushed to a city hospital (Aurobindo Seva Sadan) immediately.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Rachna Banerjee married her co-star Sidhant Mohapatra and divorced him in 2004.[10][11] She married Probal Basu in 2007 and separated from him in 2016. They have a son.[12]

Filmography[edit]

List of reality shows[edit]

Year Show Season Role Ref
2010 Dance Bangla Dance - Junior 7 Judge
2011 Didi No. 1 2 Anchor
2013 4
2015 6
2016 7
2018 8
2022 9
2023 10
2016 No 1 Didi Na Dada 1
2012 Tumi Je Amar 1
2018 Dance Bangla Dance - Junior, Season 10 Judge

Awards[edit]

  • Kalakar Awards, Bharat Nirman Award, Odia State Film Award, Special Film Award by West Bengal State Govt, Tele Samman Award, ETV Bangla Film Award, Zee Bangla Sonar Songsar Award 2015 for Didi No. 1 & Tumi Je Amar[13]

Political career[edit]

Banerjee will be contesting as All India Trinamool Congress candidate from the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency seat against Bharatiya Janata Party's sitting MP Locket Chatterjee in the upcoming 2024 Indian general election.[14][15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "রচনা-সিদ্ধান্তকে ভোলেনি মানুষ, তবে হিট জুটির রিল ও রিয়্যাল দু'জীবনেই আজ শুধুই দূরত্ব". The Wall (in Bengali). 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Who Is Rachna Banerjee? Why Was The Didi No 1 Host Trolled For Selling Sarees Online?". SheThePeople. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Rachna Banerjee's Biography". BookMyShow. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Didi No. 1 to celebrate host Rachna Banerjee's birthday". Times of India. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  5. ^ "আমার জীবনে কোনো পুরুষের প্রয়োজন নেই : রচনা". Dainik Eidin - দৈনিক এইদিন. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  6. ^ Sandeep Mishra (11 April 2009). "Sidhant runs into' Rachana". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Actress Rachna Banerjee misses her father; shares an emotional note". The Times of India. 18 November 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Actress Rachna Banerjee's real name is known as Jhumjhum" (in Bengali). Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Three injured in fire at reality show set". The Times of India. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  10. ^ Mishra, Sandeep (11 April 2009). "Sidhant runs into' Rachana". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  11. ^ "'Rachna & I knew each other inside out'". The Telegraph. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Actress Rachana Banerjee Separated From Her Husband?". Update Odisha. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Kalakar award winners" (PDF). Kalakar website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  14. ^ Kumari, Sweaty (10 March 2024). "'Didi No. 1' Rachana Banerjee gets a place on Didi's list". Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  15. ^ "লকেটের সঙ্গে কথা নিয়ে চিন্তিত, হুগলিতেই থাকতে চান রচনা? এবিপি আনন্দকে কী জানালেন তিনি?". ABP News (in Bengali). 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.

External links[edit]