Bollywood has seen scores of Bengali actresses

Bollywood has seen scores of Bengali actresses over decades. These actresses have proved their acting prowess time and again. But what remains unknown to most is that the members of the 'Bong brigade' most often steer clear of each other. In fact, there runs a common thread of frostiness among these actresses.

From the time when Rakhee and Sharmila Tagore drove director Yash Chopra crazy with their tantrums, to now, the frostiness has only increased. Even recently, when Rituparno Ghosh signed Rakhee and Sharmila Tagore for Shubho Mahurat, the two expressed disdain openly for each other.

The newer lot of Bollywood's Bengali imports has kept up the tradition. Recently, at the music launch of Sangeet Sivan's Apna Sapna Money Money, Riya Sen refused to stand next to Koena Mitra. Our source says, "Riya refused to share the stage with Koena and insisted that Sangeeth should not make them stand together. They used to be friends earlier but the friendship soured later. At the moment, they can't stand each other."

Actress Tanushree Dutta aligned herself to Koena, after the latter had a fight with Riya. Now, Tanushree refuses to even acknowledge Riya and Raima's presence.

Meanwhile, Rani Mukherji doesn't get along with actress Sushmita Sen. The two have never been spotted with each other. In fact, Sushmita makes it a point to visit the annual Durga puja pandal at Santa Cruz only when Rani is not around. "They don't have any particular reason for not talking to each other, but somehow they don't get along, and neither of them is interested in thawing the ice," says our source.

Bipasha Basu is not on talking terms with Koena Mitra and has put Riya Sen off her radar as Riya dated boyfriend John Abraham earlier. Bipasha too has never been spotted with Sushmita Sen, although she is said to be reasonably friendly with Rani Mukherji. However, there's no heart-warming friendship here too. "Bipasha and Rani are not good friends, they can just about stand each other's sight, courtesy John Abraham," says our source.

Rimii Sen has also been sidelined by her fellow Bongs because she has bagged the maximum number of prestigious projects in a span of four years. "She is very snooty and hardly speaks to anyone. Most of the time she lives in the South, shooting for Priyadarshan. Whenever she is in Mumbai, she prefers to stay at home," says our source. On the other hand, Reema Sen is ignored altogether. Says a Bengali actress on condition of anonymity, "Where is she nowadays? We don't even know what she is doing in life."


Exceptions prove the rule

Actresses Konkona Sen Sharma and Raima Sen are exceptional cases and prefer to keep away from Bong politics. "They have somehow managed to keep themselves away from all these fights. Konkona and Raima are not party animals and they are hardly spotted at pubs or social gatherings," says our source. "They are the only ones who share a cordial relation with everybody."

In the past, Jaya Bachchan and Rakhee proved to be an exception to the rule. They bonded well with each other. In fact, Jaya would actually send over home-made food for Rakhee whenever the latter complained of missing out on Bengali cuisine.