Manoj Mitra (born 22 December 1938) is an Indian theatre, film and television actor, director and playwright.

Early life

Mitra was born on 22 December 1938 in Dhulihar village of Satkhira, Khulna,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Initially he used to study at home because his father Ashok Kumar Mitra, who had a transferable job. Mitra was attracted to the Jatras and plays that used to be held in their courtyard during the

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

s but was forbidden by senior family members to participate in any way. His school life began after the

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

at a school (Dandirhat N.K.U.S. Niketan) near Basirhaat. Later he joined the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

with honours in philosophy and graduated in 1958. He used to write short stories and many of them appeared in various magazines. It was at Scottish Church that he got initiated to theatre. There were regular shows at the college where the likes of

Badal Sarkar Sudhindra Sircar (Born 15 July 1925), also known as Badal Sarkar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite movement in the 1970s and taking theatre out of the pros ...

Rudraprasad Sengupta Rudraprasad Sengupta (born 31 January 1935) is a Bengali Indian actor, director and cultural critic. Biography Sengupta was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal, the son of Anant Sengupta and Usha Prabha Sengupta. He studied at the Scottish ...

and others were students.Interview with Manoj Mitra in ''Scottish Church College Magazine'', 2001, volume 89. page 42 He did his MA in philosophy from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...

and began research for a doctorate. But by then he and friends like theatre and film director Partha Pratim Chowdhury had begun the group Sundaram. He began by teaching philosophy in the Suri Vidyasagar College (only one day) and later joined the drama department at the

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

, where he became the head of department and retired as Sisirkumar Bhaduri professor of RBU. But by then he was a leading playwright of Bengal. He was writing, directing and acting in plays. His first play ''Mrityur Chokhe Jal'' won him first prize at the statewide competition. He has written over a hundred plays like ''Mrityur Chokhe Jal'', ''Sajano Bagaan'','' Chokhe Angul Dada'','' Kaalbihongo'', ''Parabas'', ''Alokanandar Putra Kanya'', ''Narak Guljar'', ''Aswathama'', ''Chakbhanga Madhu'', ''Mesh O Rakhash'', ''Noisho Bhoj'', ''Chhayar Prashad'', ''Galpo Hekim Saheb'', ''Rajdarshan'', ''Debi Swarpamasta'', ''Munni O Saat Chowkidar'', ''Ranger haat'', ''Ja Nei Bharatey''. While most of these plays were produced by Sundaram, major theatre groups have produced his works like Theatre Workshop, Bohurupee etc. He also played a soulful role in the movie "Hothat Bristy" (Sudden Rain) in 1998 was produced by both Bangladesh & Indi

Hothat Brishti ''Hothat Brishti'' ( bn, links=no, হঠাৎ বৃষ্টি; ''Sudden Rain'') is a Bengali romance movie released in 1998 under the direction of Basu Chatterjee. It is a remake of the 1996 Tamil movie Kadhal Kottai. It was produced by ...

. His works have been translated into many languages and produced by directors like Ratan Thiyam, Rajendar Nath and others. His latest play ''Aschourjo Funtosee'' is now being produced by Sundaram in Kolkata, India. He has written several books on film and theatre. He was the President of the

Paschim Banga Natya Akademi Paschim Banga Natya Akademi is a learned society for drama and theatre in West Bengal, India. Established on 26 September 1987, it is a wing of the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal. The aim of this socie ...

from which he resigned citing health issues on August, 2019.

Awards and honours

* Sangeet Natak Akademy Award for Best Playwright (1985) * Calcutta University Award for Best Playwright (1986) * West Bengal State Government Award for Best Playwright (1983 & 1989) * Asiatic Society's Gold Medal (2005) * Filmfare Award East for Best Actor (1980) * Munir Chowdhury Award from Bangladesh Theatre Society (2011) * Dinabandhu Puraskar (25 May 2012) * Kalakar Awards

Career in cinema

Mitra has acted in films by a diverse variety of directors such as

Tapan Sinha Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

Buddhadeb Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...

Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...

Tarun Majumdar Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 22 September 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director and Screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received four National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandal ...

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

and

Goutam Ghose Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...

. He is best known for the lead role in

's film ''

Banchharamer Bagan ''Banchharamer Bagan'' is a 1980 Bengali drama film directed by Tapan Sinha. It stars Manoj Mitra and is adapted from his celebrated stage play ''Sajano Bagan''. The film was critically acclaimed and is regarded as a classic to this day. Plot Th ...

'', which is based on Mitra's play ''Sajano Bagaan'' (The Arranged Garden). and his roles in Satyajit Ray's '' Ghare Baire'' and ''

Ganashatru ''Ganashatru'' ( bn, গণশত্রু ''Gônoshotru'' 'Enemy of the People') is a 1990 Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play '' An Enemy of the People'', and was released under that title in ...

''. He played a comedy and antagonist roles in hundreds of Bengali movies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Manoj Living people Culture of Kolkata Screenwriters from Kolkata Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Rabindra Bharati University faculty Indian theatre directors Indian male dramatists and playwrights Male actors in Bengali cinema Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Bengali Hindus Kalakar Awards winners Bengali theatre personalities 1938 births 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from West Bengal