Ardhendu Sekhar Mustafi (25 January 1850 — 5 September 1908) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

actor, playwright and theater personality.

Career

Mustafi was born at

Bagbazar Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citadel o ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1850. He studied in the Hare School. Mustafi first performed in 1867 in a satire drama ''Kichhu Kichhu Bujhi'' at

Pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrounding ...

Royal palace. He joined Bagbazar Amateur Theater group and performed in ''Sadhabar Ekadashi'', written by novelist

Dinabandhu Mitra Dinabandhu Mitra (1830 – 1 November 1873) was a Bengali writer and dramatist. He is notable for his play ''Nil Darpan'' (1860). Early life Mitra was born at Chowberia village in Gopalnagar P.S., North 24 Parganas and was the son of Kalachand ...

. He was known as a rival and associates actor of

Girish Chandra Ghosh Girish Chandra Ghosh (28 February 1844 – 8 February 1912) was a Bengali actor, director, and writer. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre.Kundu, Pranay K. ''Development of Stage and Theatre Music in Bengal.'' Publ ...

. Mustafi helped Ghosh to establish the National Theater in 1872. Amrita Lal Basu described Mustafi as 'An actor made by God' because he could perform different type of characters in a play. In '' Nildarpan'', Mustafi played both male and female roles including the characters of antagonist Englishman, Wood Sahib. He was also a successful drama teacher of Kolkata. Mustafi acted in various stages including Indian National Theater, Great National Theater, Emerald Theater, Arya Natya Samaj,

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

, Aurora and Star Theater since 1872 to 1904. He also wrote a book named ''Binar Jhankar''.

Plays

* ''Nabin Tapaswini'' * ''Durgeshnandini'' * ''Sirajddaula'' * ''Mir Kashim'' * ''Prafulla'' * ''Rizia'' * ''Pratapaditya'' * ''Buro Shaliker Ghare Ro'' * ''Meghnadbadh'' * ''Balidan'' * ''Hirakchurna''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafi, Ardhendu Sekhar 1850 births 1909 deaths Indian theatre directors Indian male stage actors Bengali theatre personalities 19th-century Indian male actors People from British India Indian male dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Kolkata Hare School alumni