Srabanti Chatterjee on Life, Stardom and Why She Has No Plans to Retire

Srabanti Chatterjee has spent most of her life in front of the camera, but despite decades in the Bengali film industry, the actor says she has never allowed stardom to become her identity.

Known for her lively personality and mainstream Bengali film appearances, Srabanti has always maintained that staying grounded matters more than following every trend or projecting a larger-than-life image. In an earlier conversation with The Telegraph, she opened up about her approach to fashion, family, fame, difficult phases in life and her enduring love for acting.

Her philosophy is straightforward: stay positive, remain true to yourself and keep working for as long as the passion remains.

Srabanti Chatterjee on fashion: Confidence matters more than trends

For Srabanti, fashion does not begin with following whatever happens to be trending. She believes personal comfort and confidence are far more important.

The actor said she chooses clothes according to what she likes and feels comfortable wearing. Her wardrobe can move from a sari to Western clothing depending on her mood, and she enjoys experimenting with different colours.

She also singled out Kareena Kapoor Khan as someone whose style she admires. Srabanti appreciates Kareena’s ability to combine contemporary fashion with a relaxed, confident presence.

For her own style, however, the actor prefers individuality over simply copying a trend.

‘Jeeyo jee bhar ke’: Srabanti’s approach to life

Srabanti’s philosophy extends beyond fashion. She believes in concentrating on positivity and making the most of life rather than allowing negative situations to dictate her outlook.

Reflecting on how her perspective changed after the pandemic, she stressed the uncertainty of life and the importance of appreciating the present.

Her message can be summed up in her own phrase: “Jeeyo jee bhar ke.”

At the same time, Srabanti admitted that she is not someone who enjoys conflict. Happiness and peace, she said, are among the things she values most.

How Srabanti handles difficult phases

The actor believes that people ultimately have to become their own source of encouragement when life becomes difficult.

Rather than allowing setbacks to completely overwhelm her, she tries to remind herself that both good and bad periods are part of life. The important thing, according to Srabanti, is to recover, keep moving and avoid allowing a difficult phase to break you.

Her outlook is rooted in self-reliance, although she also credits her family and close friends with providing an important emotional support system.

Family keeps Srabanti grounded

Despite her celebrity status, Srabanti says her family continues to treat her like the same person they have always known.

She grew up in a middle-class household and has often emphasised that her family environment keeps her connected to her ordinary, non-celebrity self. Her father served in the Army, while her parents, sister, son and extended family remain important parts of her life.

She described her sister as her best friend and said she continues to maintain friendships from her school days. Family gatherings, conversations and meals remain an important way for her to disconnect from the public image associated with her career.

At home, she joked, she is simply “Gintu”, not a star.

Why stardom never went to her head

Srabanti entered the entertainment world as a child and says she experienced public attention from a very young age. She recalled classmates asking her for autographs when she was still around eight or nine.

Her father, she said, played an important role in ensuring that early recognition did not make her lose perspective.

His advice was to regard the opportunity to work as something to be grateful for rather than allowing fame to become a source of superiority.

That lesson has stayed with Srabanti. She considers acting a passion and believes excessive emphasis on celebrity status can eventually take away from a person’s individuality.

Her son Jhinuk is one of her biggest sources of support

Srabanti shares a particularly close relationship with her son Jhinuk. At the time of the interview, she described their age gap as relatively small and said their relationship could sometimes feel more like that of siblings.

She appreciates his straightforwardness. If he dislikes something, she said, he does not hesitate to tell her, while his praise is equally direct when he likes something.

The two have also supported each other through difficult moments. Srabanti acknowledged that negativity can affect anyone, but believes helping each other regain perspective has strengthened their bond.

Why she avoids gossip

Srabanti has built several close friendships within the Bengali film industry, including with Mimi Chakraborty, Koushani Mukherjee, Oindrila Sen, Nusrat Jahan and Subhashree Ganguly, among others.

She attributes many of these friendships to her personality. As someone who enjoys making people laugh and spending time together, she prefers light-hearted conversations to gossip.

She also makes a conscious effort not to interfere in other people’s private lives.

Her philosophy is simple: everyone has their own problems to solve, and getting involved in someone else’s personal affairs rarely helps either side.

Srabanti says she does not believe in extreme dieting

When asked about maintaining her appearance, Srabanti pushed back against the idea of following restrictive diets simply to achieve a particular body type.

She said she enjoys rice and does not subscribe to the obsession with maintaining a “zero figure”. Staying hydrated is also important to her, with the actor describing water as one of her favourite everyday essentials.

For Srabanti, feeling happy is closely connected to looking and feeling good. She believes that inner contentment eventually reflects on a person’s appearance.

‘My name means water’ — and she loves going with the flow

Srabanti has also connected her personality with the meaning of her name. She joked that she is adaptable much like water, although there are limits to how much she can accommodate.

She enjoys swimming and said that, in general, she prefers to take life as it comes rather than attempting to control every development.

That willingness to “go with the flow” has become part of how she describes her approach to both life and her career.

No retirement plan for Srabanti

After spending decades in the industry, Srabanti has no intention of stepping away from acting simply because she has been working for a long time.

In fact, she describes herself as a workaholic and says she wants to continue working for as long as she can.

Her connection with the camera, she explained, is deeply personal. Acting is not merely a profession she happens to have pursued for years; it remains something she loves.

For Srabanti, retirement is therefore not currently part of the plan.

The Bollywood directors Srabanti wants to work with

Srabanti has also expressed interest in collaborating with several prominent Hindi filmmakers.

Among the directors she has mentioned are Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Basu, Kabir Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She has particularly described Bhansali’s films as a dream opportunity.

Her aspirations underline another aspect of her career philosophy: even after years in Bengali cinema, she remains interested in challenging herself with new filmmakers and different kinds of work.

Srabanti’s long-standing industry friendships

Alongside her professional ambitions, Srabanti values the friendships she has developed within Bengali cinema.

She has spoken warmly about her bond with Mimi Chakraborty and has also mentioned Subhashree Ganguly and Nusrat Jahan among her industry friends. She has praised Priyanka Sarkar’s acting and described Ankush Hazra as particularly entertaining.

She has also shared screen space with Ritwick Chakraborty and recalled working with him in London.