"Did you read Noshto-neer?" Satyajit Ray asked over the phone. "I am sending it to you. Read it."

"Yes, I read it already," Madhabi Mukherjee, the actress, replied.

"Still, read it again," the director insisted.

And the rest is history. The movie Charulata — adapted from Rabindranath Tagore's 1901 novella Noshto-neer —   came into being in 1964, where Madhabi brought to life the central character of the story, Charulata.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Model: Simmi

Wardrobe: Kumudini

Makeup: Sumon Rahat

Styling: Sonia Yeasmin Isha

Special thanks to Nazneen Haque Mimi