Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan),
Burdwan
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
,
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
,
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 ...
. He died on 17 November 1971 in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, West Bengal, India. He is known for his innovative use of sound and music in Indian Cinema. He worked first under the banner of
British Dominion Films
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali Cinema. He h ...
of
Dhiren Ganguly
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...
and later with
Pramathesh Barua
Pramathesh Chandra Barua (24 October 1903 – 29 November 1951) was an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter of Indian films in the pre-independence era, born in Gauripur, Dhubri, Assam.
Early life
Barua was the son of the royal family of ...
's Barua Pictures and finally he joined
New Theatres
New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotire ...
banner in 1932. He started his own production company, Debaki Productions, in 1945.
Early life
Debaki Bose was son of a successful advocate in Burdwan. He graduated from Vidyasagar College but left the university. Inspired by
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
's call for
non-co-operation movement
The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance. He opened a shop in local market selling towels and he was also an editor of a local weekly named ''Shakti''.
Dhiren Ganguly
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...
, better known as DG, an established film director from Calcutta, was visiting Burdwan at that time. DG met Debaki and as he came know about Debaki's writing skill, he invited Debaki to come to Calcutta and to write film scripts for him. This culminated into the first film made by British Dominion Films named ''Kamonar Agun'' (or ''Flames of Flesh'').
Career highlights
* Debaki Bose was a top Indian film director in his time. During this period, many of the Bengali films made by him were also released in Hindi and even in
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
.
* ''Chandidas'' (1932), directed by him, contained background music for the first time in Indian Cinema. Raichand Boral, also known as R.C. Boral was the music director.
* '' Seeta'' (1934), made under the banner of
East India Film Company
The East India Film Company was an Indian film production company, based in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India. It was the first Indian film company to screen a movie at an international film festival. Started in 1932 in Calcutta, by R. ...
, was the first Indian
talkie
A sound film is a motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
shown in any international film festival. It was shown in
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, where it won an Honorary Diploma. He was the 1st Indian director to receive any international award.
* ''
Sagar Sangamey
''Sagar Sangamey'' ( bn, সাগর সঙ্গমে; en, The Holy Island) is a 1959 Bengali film directed by Debaki Bose. The film won the National Award for the Best Film and the Best Child Actress in 1959. The award was presented by the ...
'' (1959) was nominated for Golden Bear at the
9th Berlin International Film Festival
The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and Françoi ...
(1959). This film got
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of sev ...
at the
6th National Film Awards
The 6th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1958. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi ...
ceremony in 1959.
* ''Arghya'' (1961) was a very special documentary film, produced by the Government of West Bengal on the occasion of
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
's birth centennial. It was based on four poems of Tagore: Pujarini, Puratan Bhritya, Abhisar and Dui Bigha Jami.
* He received
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...
for Film Direction in 1957.
* He received
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
in Arts in 1958.
* He is one of the greatest film icons to never receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Filmography
Director
* Panchasar (1930)
* Shadows of the Dead (1931)
* Aparadhi (1931) (Hindi Title: Aparadhi Abla, English Title: The Culprit)
* Nishir Dak (1932)
* Chandidas (1932)
*
Puran Bhagat
Puran Bhagat (later became Sri Chauranginatha) was a Punjabi Nath Saint and prince of Sialkot. As per unauthenticated history, he had been exiled and lived the last days of his life in a village located in the suburbs of Sialkot city. His temple ...
(1933) (English title: The Devoted)
* Meerabai (1933)
*
Rajrani Meera
''Rajrani Meera'' (Rajrani Mira) is a 1933 Hindi devotional film. It was directed by Debaki Bose for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The cinematographer was Nitin Bose with music composed by R. C. Boral. The film was a bilingual, made in Bengali a ...
(1933)
*
Dulari Bibi
''Dulari Bibi'' is a 1933 Hindi/Urdu comedy film. It was directed by Debaki Bose and produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. A short 3 reel film it centred on the story of Our Wives. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Molina Devi, Mir Jan and the m ...
Vidyapati
Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...
Sagar Sangamey
''Sagar Sangamey'' ( bn, সাগর সঙ্গমে; en, The Holy Island) is a 1959 Bengali film directed by Debaki Bose. The film won the National Award for the Best Film and the Best Child Actress in 1959. The award was presented by the ...
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...