After a glittering and high-voltage debut in 2019, and equally successful second and third editions in 2022 and 2023, where 15 and 12 women respectively were awarded for their path-breaking contributions to their professions and also impacting society positively, the Devi Awards was back this year at ITC Royal Bengal to felicitate 13 more such dynamic women.
The Devi Awards was started with the vision to recognise the contributions of women from all walks of life who have triumphed in their respective fields and uplifted fellow women and men as they went along. After 18 editions in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Lucknow and Chennai, the Devi Awards, conceived in 2014, came to Kolkata for the first time on August 31, 2019, to celebrate women achievers from Kolkata and the East.
This year’s recipients included singer Barnali Chattopadhyay, actor-trainer Daminee Benny Basu, dance exponent Priti Patel, artist Sanhita, actor Subhashree Ganguly, fashion designer Pallavi Singhee, filmmaker Sarmistha Maiti, heritage conservationist Mukul Agarwal, mental health advocate Dr Minu Budhia, alternative medicine practitioner Dr Pritee Ganatra, idol maker Mala Paul, actor Preeti Panigrahi, and animal welfare activist Titas Mukherjee.
The programme began by observing a two-minute silence in honour of the deceased doctor, who was recently raped and brutally murdered while on duty at a state hospital in Kolkata.
Former Union Minister Smriti Irani, who was the chief guest, also fielded questions with panache during a meaningful conversation with Kaveree Bamzai, senior journalist of The New Indian Express Group.
Addressing the dark times looming over the city which is currently witnessing massive civil protests for justice, she paved the way for hope and resilience by reiterating her learnings in life. Smriti said, "I think that not every battle can be won. But what you can do is walk away from a battle with a human heart throbbing and your values intact. When you walk away from the battle and your competitor still has the respect, that's an achievement."
The award ceremony was an eclectic showcase of powerhouse talents.
Kolkata at least hasn't seen so many accomplished women unite under one roof in a while, and that too on a platform celebrating them. The recipients received their awards from Prabhu Chawla and Smriti Irani, and opened up about their success stories.
Actor Subhashree Ganguly mentioned, "I'm honoured and grateful but again we are coming back to that point, not happy. We all are broken. So, today definitely I'm happy to receive this award but I cannot celebrate this."
Daminee Benny Basu used the forum to re-iterate the fire of the Devi which is instilled in each one of us. She said, "I have a Devi award in one hand and in my other hand there's an invisible can of worms. But still I would like to believe that my city is not broken.This is the right time to open the dialogue and talk about things which are problematic… Kar Shapath… Kar Shapath.. Kar Shapath…"
Barnali Chattopadhyay had won over the audience through her mesmerising vocals in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi earlier this year.
She had this to say: "Thank you. It's a very special day for me and at the same time I have a heavy heart. I spread happiness through my music all over the world."
Fashion Designer Pallavi Singhee opened up about how the city inspired her works. "Calcutta is a land of heritage and culture. There is so much history and art here. It's a place filled with inspiration, and that's how it inspires me."
Some of the noteworthy attendees at the Devi Awards were artists Shuvaprasanna and Sipra Bhattacharya, sculptor and artist Narayan Sinha, Sahibzada Humayun Ali Mirza, industrialist Sanjay Budhia, Dr Rupali Basu, actors Ushasi Ray, Ekavalli Khanna; Lahoma Bhattacharya, Priyanka Mondal, Susmita Chatterjee, Tanika, Sayantani, Sanghasree, Richa Sharma and Adolina Ganguly; designers, Abhishek Dutta, Kanaklata Datta, scenographer Swarup Dutta, dancer Sudarshan Chakravorty, producers Suven Kumar Das and Firdausal Hassan, music composer Indraadip Dasgupta; and inter-disciplinary artiste Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee among others.
This year Adani Group was the presenting partner of the glittering event and the associate partners included Senco Gold and Diamonds and Life Insurance Corporation of India, Celebration Partner was Radico Khaitan, Gifting Partners were Ahujasons, and Auli Active Ayurveda, and Outdoor Partner was Selvel One.
Know all the Devis from the Kolkata 2024 edition:
Born in Varanasi and growing up in an environment surrounded by music, it wasn’t unnatural for classical singer Barnali Chattopadhyay to be inclined toward singing. With formal training in music starting when she was only three, Barnali had no doubt what she wanted to be in life. Having spent 27 years learning from the late Girija Devi of the Benaras gharana, and a few more years learning from the late Shobha Gurtu of the Jaipur gharana, Barnali had a fabulous Hindi OTT musical debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Heeramandi that has put the spotlight firmly on her. Her mesmerising renditions like Saiyaan and Phool Gendwa from the series have set Barnali’s foot firmly in the Bollywood terrain, as she gears up to embrace all that lies ahead in her musical career.
Priti Patel was initiated into the world of dance at the age of five and received her training from eminent Manipuri dance gurus, Late Guru Bipin Singh and the Jhaveri Sisters. She then went on to take lessons in the pre-Vaishnavite dance forms of Thang-ta and Lai Haraoba, the martial and ritualistic forms of the Manipuri dance traditions respectively. With the intention of imparting education in this unique dance tradition, she laid the foundation of a school called Anjika in Kolkata in 1995, which has a dual curriculum that includes movement therapy for children suffering from cerebral palsy. The graceful dance exponent, who is also a Fullbright Fellow, has received several honours including the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
There are very few artistes across the world who can reprise life on screen as naturally as it happens in reality. Daminee Benny Basu is one of them. Raised on stage by two revered theatre practitioners — Asit and Bhadra Basu — Daminee has devised her life in such a clever way that she is never actually away from her art. She is either teaching students or acting. Her latest act as Sabitri Mondal in Indranil Roychowdhury’s debut Bengali web show Chotolok left the audience in awe. The gritty actor, who prefers quality over quantity, has also been seen in Kaushik Ganguly’s hit films, Ardhangini and Jesthoputro, as well as Indrasis Acharya’s Parcel. Thoroughly trained in the Eric Morris System of Beyond-Method acting, by Eric Morris himself, in Hollywood, Daminee is accredited by the International Coaching Federation and is a guest faculty at the National School of Drama, Delhi and IIM – Calcutta.
A filmmaker and an alumna of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), India, Sarmistha Maiti received her first National Film Award for the feature-length documentary film At the Crossroads Nondon Bagchi Life and Living at the 61st National Film Awards, 2013. Sarmistha has written and directed several documentary films, short fiction films, PSA, animation and New Media films. Last year, her debut full-length feature film, Kalkokkho Also called House of Time, co-directed by Rajdeep Paul bagged the award for the Best Bengali Film at the National Film Awards in 2023 (for films made in 2021). Now ready with her second film, Mon Potongo, Sarmistha's unique and impactful content for cinema has only just begun.
Since her win in a reality series in 2006, Subhashree Ganguly has built her acting career with hard work and tenacity. Not one to give up, the beautiful actor ruled the box office with superhit films like Challenge, Paran Jai Jaliya Re, Boss and Khokababu, among others. The actor further developed her skills and started exploring more meaningful cinema where she made a noticeable impact with her performances in films like Parineeta, Dharmajuddha, Boudi Canteen and Habji Gabji. Subhashree won the award for the Best Actor Female Critics, Regional, at the Streaming Academy Awards (SIIMA), for her outstanding OTT debut act in the web series Indubala Bhaater Hotel. Subhashree’s powerful and emotive depiction of Indubala resonated deeply with viewers, cementing her status as a versatile and talented actor. She will soon be seen in Raj Chakraborty’s upcoming film Babli besides other projects.
A radical amalgamation of traditional heritage and modern elements, Pallavi Singhee’s 13-year-old label Verb represents the constant state of flux that the fashion world is in, but with a timeless twist to the same. The Kolkata-based designer, who has been worn by such Bollywood celebs as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Taapsee Pannu and Rakul Preet Singh among others, is hailed for making clothes that are seasonless and can be worn years later without the risk of being outdated. Swish and stylish with an element of funk added to them, her designs are always about heritage, culture and diversity of styles and fabrics put across in a playful manner.
Founder-Trustee of Calcutta Heritage Collective (CHC), Mukul Agarwal, studied architecture at CEPT, Ahmedabad. There was always a natural bent towards architecture of all kinds – traditional and contemporary. Living in Kolkata, she was intrigued by the beautiful structures built in the 19th and 20th centuries. She felt she needed to give back to her city by preserving and finding ways of adaptive reuse of the built heritage. That apart she recently stepped up to manage two family hotels in Goa and Jaipur. Mukul is also the former President of the Ladies Study Group and part of the recently formed five-member National Council of Ladies Study Group.
Psychotherapist, author and TEDx speaker, Dr Minu Budhia is the Founder of Caring Minds International (Institute of Mental Health & OPD Clinic), ICanFlyy International School and ICanFlyy Tea Kafi. As part of her outreach programmes, she has personally conducted awareness workshops for over 45,000 people across schools, colleges, socio-cultural organisations, corporate organisations, the police, the army, the navy, airport officials and more; written as a columnist in leading newspapers; published her first memoir Death of a Caterpillar and is currently writing her second; presented seven research papers and symposiums across national psychiatric conferences. As a mental health advocate and pioneering force for change, Dr Minu Budhia has been working tirelessly for over 15 years, dedicating her life to providing accessible mental health services.
Dr Pritee Ganatra, a certified medical practitioner specialising in alternative medicine for over 20 years, has a number of qualifications. Her wide knowledge and experience allow her to adopt both individual as well as hybrid treatment methods across Chinese Acupuncture, Electro Acupuncture, Cosmetic Acupuncture, Auricular Acupuncture and Detoxification among others, to suit the needs of each individual. Recognised as the Sujok Practitioner of the year in 2011, she has treated thousands of patients, across age groups and backgrounds, including celebrities, for multiple ailments including neurological disorders, diabetes, thyroid, hypertension and spinal problems. Her clinic is often the last hope for many serious medical cases, including post-Covid and post-Cancer therapy complications.
Sanhita has dedicated her life to the philosophies of Baul. She not only celebrates Baul philosphy through her paintings, but also lives the philosophy. A painter, her creations are inspired by the ethos of Sanatan Dharma. Having spent over 15 years with the Baul fakirs, she intends to spend the rest of her life in their vicinity, in a serene ashram in Birbhum, called Golok Riverside Retreat on the banks of river Ajoy in Joydeb Kenduli. She is also a part of TarkataZ, a creative organisation that specialises in art-led CSR strategies.
Mala Paul started making small idols from the age of 14 at her family studio despite reservations of her father and family elders. It was only in 1986, when her father passed away, that Mala started assisting her brother in idol-making. Soon after, she was invited by National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum to make two Durga idols and one Bengali Kali idol. Later, the museum authorities also enrolled her in an advanced painting course and she returned to Kolkata after six months of training. A recipient of several awards, Mala specialises in miniature, small and foldable idols and also runs a training school, called Mala Paul er Thakur Gorar Pathshaala to keep the art of idol-making alive, with 42 students currently under her wings. Right now, she is working on a two-foot tall fibre Durga idol, which will fly to the US soon.
Titas Mukherjee is an animal welfare activist, who co-founded Animal Rescue and Care (ARC), a shelter cum hospital for rescued and homeless dogs, cats and birds in 2014. The main objective of the organisation is to create a better world for our voiceless friends by spreading awareness among people and sensitising them, so that humans live in harmony with the lesser privileged species and defend their right to life. With countless helpless animals rescued by her for over a decade, Titas has about 150 animals currently in the shelter. She undertakes numerous rescue operations and primarily works in the interiors of Diamond Harbour, Joka and Thakurpukur area of Behala in Kolkata.
A student of animation at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata, young actor Preeti Panigrahi played the lead character Mira in the 2024 Sundance Award-winning film, Girls Will be Girls, for which she won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for acting. A recipient of the National Bal Shree Honour by the Human Resource Development Ministry of India for her excellence in the field of theatre in 2015, Preeti is making her own animated short film and aspires to make a mark in filmmaking, embracing any role that allows her to bring stories to life.