MUMBAI: Bangladesh‘s Pabna district celebrated Bengali screen veteran Suchitra Sen‘s 80th birthday on 6 April with a call to preserve her ancestral home as a heritage site and museum.

"Suchitra Sen is the pride of Pabna. Her ancestral home certainly qualifies as a historical establishment. It is very unfortunate that her ancestral residence has been occupied," said convener of Suchitra Sen Memory Preservation Committee, Pabna, Mohammed Saidul Haque Chunnu.

Sen was born at her maternal grandfather‘s residence at Bhangabari village in Pabna district. 

Sen, whose original name was Rama Dasgupta, started her academic career at Mahakali Pathshala in Pabna town. After her schooling at Pabna Girls School, she moved to India following partition in 1947. Sen is now a resident of Kolkata.

Sen happens to be the first Indian actress to be awarded in an international film festival when she received the best actress award for her 1963 film Saat Paake Bandha at the Moscow Film Festival.