Rudraprasad Sengupta (born 31 January 1935) is 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n 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 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 ...

of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

where he earned his B.A. and M.A degrees in English literature. He was formerly a reader in English at the

Brahmananda Keshab Chandra College Brahmananda Keshab Chandra College, established in 1956, is an undergraduate college in Baranagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was named after the nineteenth century social reformer Keshab Chandra Sen. Popularly known as B.K.C. College, the ...

, Calcutta, and a visiting lecturer in the Drama Department of

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. ...

. In 1961 he joined the

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 ...

-based theatre group

Nandikar Nandikar ( bn, নান্দীকার) is a theatre group in India. The group has its headquarters in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, but works around the world. History Nandikar's story begins on 29 June 1960 at maternal uncle's house ...

and in the early 1970s started to direct several plays for the group. In the late 1970s he became the leader of the group. He had directed many plays including Football, Feriwalar Mrityu among others. He received several awards, including the highest national award from

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

in 1980. He has also appeared in some Bengali art films,

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

's ''

Little Buddha ''Little Buddha'' is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, ...

'', and

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits includ ...

's ''City of Joy''. He was married to

Swatilekha Sengupta Swatilekha Sengupta (''née'' Chatterjee; 22 May 1950 – 16 June 2021) was a Bengali actress. She had received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to Indian theatre as an actor. Career Swatilekha started her career in theater ...

, who was one of the leading actresses of Nandikar. His daughter

Sohini Sengupta Sohini Sengupta is an Indian film and theatre actress. Daughter of actor Rudraprasad Sengupta and Swatilekha Sengupta, who are also active in theatre, Sohini is one of the leading actors of the Bengali theatre group Nandikar. As a member of the ...

is one of the leading actresses in theatre and films.

Filmography

* '' Purba Paschim Dakshin'' (2019) * ''

Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

'' (2010) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...

'' (1992) * '' Padi Pishir Barmi Baksha'' (1972) * ''

Ekhoni ''Ekhoni'' (also ''Ekhonee''; English: ''Right Now'') is a 1971 Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha, starring Aparna Sen, Moushumi Chatterjee, Chinmoy Roy and others. Based on an award-winning novel of the same name by Ramapada Chowdhury, ''Ekho ...

'' (1971) * ''

Hatey Bazarey ''Hatey Bazarey'' or ''Hate Bazare'' (Bengali: হাটে বাজারে; English: The Market Place) is a 1967 award-winning art film by noted Bengali director Tapan Sinha and produced Asim Dutta, the story revolves around the conflict betw ...

'' (1967) * ''

Galpo Holeo Satti ''Galpo Holeo Satti'' ( bn, গল্প হলেও সত্যি) is a 1966 comedic Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha. It stars Bhanu Banerjee, Jogesh Chatterjee, Bharati Devi, Chaya Devi, Ajoy Ganguli, Rabi Ghosh, Rudraprasad Sengu ...

'' (1966)IMDB link
/ref> * ''

Sagina Mahato ''Sagina Mahato'' is a 1970 Bengali film. Produced by Shri J. K. Kapur and directed by Tapan Sinha, the film stars Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. The film is based on the true story of the labour movement of 1942–43, told through with fiction ...

Awards

* ''

Banga Bibhushan Banga Bibhushan Samman ( bn, বঙ্গবিভূষণ) is a title instituted by the West Bengal government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. The Banga Ratna Samman and the Banga Bhushan Samman ("Bengal ornament" ব� ...

'' in 2012 by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

for his contributions to theatre. * ''Anukul Samman'' in 2013 by the National Drama Festival, Allahabad.Drama festival in Allahabad
/ref> *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Puraskar were given at special events organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi in *Kolkata – Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Samman on 25 April 2012 *Chennai – Sangeet Natak Akademi ...

in 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sengupta, Rudraprasad 1935 births Living people Male actors from Kolkata Indian theatre directors Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty Rabindra Bharati University faculty Bengali theatre personalities Bengali male actors Male actors in Bengali cinema Indian male stage actors Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award