Srijit Mukherji is an excellent national award winning Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor

Prosenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors in modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Bengali cinema . He is the son of veteran Bollywood actor Bisw ...

brought him into the limelight. His first feature film ''

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), was a critical and commercial success, where he had written the script with Chatterjee in mind. His fifth film, ''

Jaatishwar ''Jaatishwar'' () is a 2014 Indian Bengali musical drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and Swastika Mukherjee. The main focus of the plot revolves around the life and notable works of Anthony F ...

,'' won four national awards at India's

61st National Film Awards The 61st National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2013 in the Indian cinema. The ceremony was held on 3 May 2014. ...

(2014). He won the

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since ...

and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

for his sixth film, ''

Chotushkone ''Chotushkone'' ( bn, চতুষ্কোণ; en, Quadrangle) is an Indian Bengali thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji, starring Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose, Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Parambrata Chatterjee and Payel Sarkar.The film received pos ...

,'' at India's 62nd National Film Awards. His eighth film, ''

Rajkahini ''Rajkahini'' (English: ''Tale of Kings'', can also be called ''Tale of the Raj'') is an Indian Bengali-language historical drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji. The shooting of the film completed in June 2015 and the film released on 16 Oct ...

'' had been remade into a Hindi film titled, '' Begum Jaan'', starring

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...

in 2017. His 2018 release

Ek Je Chhilo Raja ''Ek Je Chhilo Raja'' is an Indian Bengali drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji, under the banner of SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd, starring Jisshu Sengupta in the titular role of Maharaja Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury as well as the Bhawal sanyasi ...

won the 'Best Bengali Film' Award at India's 66th National Film Awards. His 2019 film

Gumnaami ''Gumnaami'' ( bn, গুমনামি) is a 2019 Indian Bengali-language Factual film based on the true events directed by Srijit Mukherji, which deals with the mystery of Netaji's death, based on the Mukherjee Commission hearings and the ...

won him the Best Bengali Film and Best Adapted Screenplay Awards at the 67th National Film Awards

Early life

Mukherji completed his schooling from

Dolna Day School Dolna Day School is an English-medium co-ed school located at Rash Behari Avenue Connector, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Educ ...

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 ...

and South Point High School, Kolkata, before studying economics at

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

. He went on to complete his MA and M.Phil in

environmental economics Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues. It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical or ...

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

, parallelly working as a social scientist in the Urban Transport and Pollution Sector with TERI in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. He quit his Ph.D while in his first year, to join IRI Symphony,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

as an econometrician and business analyst. After working in Bangalore and a brief stint in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, he quit his job to actively pursue theatre and films.

Career

Even while working as an economist and statistician, he was actively involved with the English professional theatre circuit in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and Bangalore. He has acted in ''Madness'', adapted from

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza (, ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His novel ''The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller and he has published 28 more books ...

's ''

Veronica Decides To Die ''Veronika Decides to Die'' ( pt, Veronika Decide Morrer) is a novel by Paulo Coelho. It tells the story of Veronika, a 24-year-old Slovenian who appears to have everything in life going for her, but who decides to kill herself. This book is pa ...

'';

Manoj Mitra 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. Initially he used to study at home ...

's ''The Orchard of Banchharam'';

Badal Sircar 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 pro ...

's ''The Other Side of History''; Sunil Ganguly's ''Pratidwandi – The Adversary'', adapted for the stage from

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 ...

's film of the same name and ''Lucknow 76''. He wrote and directed ''Mindgame'', an Indian adaptation of

Reginald Rose Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s. Rose w ...

's ''

Twelve Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a 1 ...

'', at the Alliance Francaise De Bangalore in 2006. In April 2008, he formed his own troupe, Pandora's Act, whose first production, ''Feluda Pherot!'' at Rangashankara in July 2008 was a runaway success and was the first ever non-canonical dramatisation of Satyajit Ray's sleuth

Feluda Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his ap ...

Barun Chanda Barun Chanda is an Indian Bengali advertising professional, actor and author based in the city of Kolkata. He is mostly remembered for his role in Satyajit Ray's '' Seemabaddha''. Biography Chanda was born in Dhaka in present day Bangladesh, ...

, Ray's leading man in ''Seemabodhho'', and

Parambrata Chatterjee Parambrata Chattopadhyay (born 27 June 1980) is an Indian actor and director. Parambrata started his career with Bengali television and films. He has acted as the fictional character Topshe from Feluda under Sandip Ray's direction. He made his ...

, the screen

Topshe Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his a ...

and film youth icon, starred in this production. In 2009, he wrote, directed and acted in the English play ''Checkmate'', a non-canonical re-interpretation of

Byomkesh Bakshi Byomkesh Bakshi is an Indian-Bengali fictional detective created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Referring to himself as a "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi in the stories, Bakshi is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and ...

Saradindu Bandopadhyay Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was an Indian Bengali-language writer. He was actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Sharadindu compos ...

's sleuth. He was an assistant director, lyricist and actor in both

Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (Bengali: অঞ্জন দত্ত) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutt began his career in Bengali cinema i ...

's ''

Madly Bangalee ''Madly Bangalee'' is a Bengali 2009 rock musical film directed by Anjan Dutt. During his previous film "Bong Connection" shot in Houston, Director Anjan Dutt received lot of help and support from Houston filmmaker San Banarje who arranged for ...

'' and

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmf ...

's ''

Iti Mrinalini ''Iti Mrinalini'' ( bn, ইতি মৃণালিনী en, Yours, Mrinalini; en, An Unfinished Letter) is a 2011 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sen collaborated with Ranjan Ghosh to write both the story and t ...

'', in 2009. He has also written lyrics for films like ''

Cross Connection ''Cross Connection'' ( bn, ক্রস কানেকশন) is a 2009 Indian Bengali romance drama film directed by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha. The film released theatrically on 1 May 2009.This film is the debut of Abir Chatterjee as lead ...

'', ''

Le Chakka ''Le Chakka'' ( en, Take a Sixer) (Bengali:লে ছক্কা) is a 2010 Bengali-language sports comedy film written by Padmanava Dasgupta and directed by Raj Chakraborty. The film stars Payel Sarkar and Dev as the lead pair of the film wi ...

'' and ''Josh'', TV serials like ''Coffee and More'' and ''

Dadagiri ''Dadagiri'' is an Indian reality show that premiered on Bindass in 2008. History In its first season, called ''Dadagiri: Beat the Bullies'', contestants were selected every week and would compete for a prize money of Rs. 50,000. It was h ...

'' and non-film albums of

Usha Uthup Usha Uthup Iyer (born 7 November 1947) is an Indian pop, filmi, jazz, and playback singer who sang songs in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. "Darling", which she recorded with Rekha Bhardwaj for the film ''7 Khoon Maaf'', won the Filmfare Award ...

2010–2012

In 2010 Mukherji directed his debut feature film, the award-winning blockbuster – ''

'' which was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. The film won 41 awards and was an official selection at Abu Dhabi International Film Festival 2010, MIAAC Film Festival in New York 2010, Glasgow International Film Festival 2011 and

London Indian Film Festival London Indian Film Festival is a film festival established in 2010 to showcase Indian independent film. In the same year he also made his acting debut on Bengali television in the

Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...

scripted mega serial ''

Gaaner Opare ''Gaaner Oparey'' () is an Indian Bengali television serial which aired on Star Jalsha from 28 June 2010 to 16 April 2011. This TV musical marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the great Indian poet Rabi ...

'', produced by Ideas Entertainment. His work in 2011 included a major role in Anindya Banerjee's ''Chaplin'' starring

Rudranil Ghosh Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian actor who works primarily in Bengali films. Education Rudranil Ghosh completed his early education at Santragachi Kedarnath Institution, Howrah under West Bengal State Board. He graduated from the Narasinha Dutt Col ...

and his second film, ''

Baishe Srabon ''Baishey Srabon'' (''22 Shey Srabon'') is a 2011 Indian Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji. it was his second film. The cast consists of Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterje ...

'' starring

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma on 7 November 1979) is an Indian actress who is known for her work in the Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma a ...

Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theater personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...

and

Gautam 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 ...

, who returned to acting after a hiatus of 29 years. ''Baishe Srabon'' was recently the official selection at the Dubai International Film Festival and the closing film at the London Indian Film Festival, and had a 105-day run at the box office making it the biggest blockbuster of the year. ''Baishe Srabon'' has won 41 awards. His third feature film was ''

Hemlock Society The Hemlock Society (sometimes called Hemlock Society USA) was an American right-to-die and assisted suicide advocacy organization which existed from 1980 to 2003. It was co-founded in Santa Monica, California by British author and activi ...

'', a romantic satire set at the backdrop of a school which teaches aspirants how to successfully commit suicide. It featured Parambrata Chatterjee and

Koel Mallick Koel Mallick (born Rukmini Mallick on 28 April 1982) is an Indian actress who appears in Bengali films. She is the daughter of actor Ranjit Mallick and Deepa Mallick. She made her film debut in ''Nater Guru'' (2003). Early life and education ...

and won 21 awards.

2013–2016

Mukherji's fourth film, ''

Mishawr Rawhoshyo ''Mishawr Rawhoshyo'' is a 2013 Indian adventure thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji, based on the fictional character Kakababu created by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, Swastika Mukherjee, Arya ...

'', based on Kakababu with Prasenjit Chattopadhyay playing the lead character has been declared as one of the biggest blockbusters ever and the highest earning urban mainstream film. He has acted in films like ''

Dutta Vs Dutta ''Dutta Vs Dutta'' is a 2012 Indian Bengali film directed by Anjan Dutt. This is Anjan Dutt's semi-autobiographical film. Most of the film has been shot in a house of Amherst Street in Kolkata. Anjan has described this house resonated feel of hi ...

'', ''

Bapi Bari Jaa ''Bapi Bari Jaa'' is a 2012 Indian Bengali language, Bengali romantic comedy film directed by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha (director), Abhijit Guha. The movie is jointly produced by Shree Venkatesh Films and Idea Creations, and stars Arjun Cha ...

'' and the national award-winning ''

Shobdo ''Shabdo''Spelling according to official website (''Sound'') is a 2012 Indian Bengali film directed by Kaushik Ganguly. The film revolves around the life of Tarak, a foley artist of Bengali film. Tarak's job is to create ambient sounds for film ...

''. His fifth film ''

'' is generally considered to be the best in his career and most critically acclaimed. It is the musical bridge between two centuries of Bengali culture and a biopic cum a musical cum a reincarnation drama. At the 61st National Awards 2014, the highest film honour in India, it won 4 national awards for Music Direction, Playback Singing, Costume and Make up. This was the highest tally for a film in India this year, and the second highest ever for a Bengali film. It also swept the Mirchi Music Awards in 2015 winning 7 awards. The following year at the 62nd National Awards 2015, Chotushkone won him the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay awards, along with winning the Best Cinematography. He also received the Young Achiever Award from Rotary International, the prestigious Shera Bangali Award from ABP Anando and the Shoilojanando Mukhopadhyay Memorial Award in 2012 for his contribution in the field of film direction. In 2013 he received the Uttam Kumar Memorial Award from the Government of West Bengal becoming the youngest director to achieve this. He has also received the oldest film award in India, the BFJA award, for remarkable contribution to Bengali Cinema in the last few years.

2017–2020

Mukherji has made his directorial debut in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

with the film '' Begum Jaan'' which is a remake of his earlier

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 ...

film

plays the lead role of a brothel's madam during the partition of India in 1947. He had two releases in 2018,

Uma Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

and

. Both were box office superhits. The former went to 10 film festivals around the world and won 6 awards while the latter won 23 awards and went to 7 film festivals around the world including Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2018, it was reported that Mukherji will be directing a Junglee Pictures produced yet to be titled web-series in Hindi, based on the novel of noted novelist and blogger

Arnab Ray Arnab Ray is an Indian novelist, blogger, podcaster who currently lives in the United States. While finishing his PhD at Stony Brook University, he started his blog with the name ''Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind,'' in August 2004, using ''Gr ...

, The Mahabharata Murders. This will be his first foray into web-series direction. In 2019, he has three releases

Shahjahan Regency ''Shah Jahan Regency'' is an Indian Bengali drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji, under the banner of SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd, starring Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Anjan Dutt, Mamata Shankar, Anirban Bhattacharya, Swastika ...

Vinci Da ''Vinci Da'' is a 2019 Indian Bengali psychological thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji, under the banner of SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd, starring Rudranil Ghosh, Ritwick Chakraborty, Anirban Bhattacharya, Riddhi Sen, Gautam Moitra and ...

and

, the last two being both critical and commercial successes along with being a festival favourite.

won the Best Bengali Feature Film and Best Adapted Screenplay Awards at the 67th National Film Awards. He has also completed another web-series, ''Feluda Pherot'', which is based on two

stories written by Satyajit Ray, ''Chhinomostar Obhishaap'' and ''Darjeeling Jomjomat''.

Filmography

As director

Web Series

As Lyricist and Actor

Personal life

Mukherji married

Rafiath Rashid Mithila Rafiath Rashid Mithila, who is best known by her stage name as Mithilaa, is a Bangladeshi actress, singer, model, and development worker. She is currently the head of the Early Childhood Development programme in BRAC (organisation), BRAC. Early ...

on 6 December 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherji, Srijit Living people Male actors from Kolkata 1977 births University of Calcutta alumni Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Bengali film directors 21st-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian film directors Bengali screenwriters Screenwriters from Kolkata Bengali male actors 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Best Director National Film Award winners Film directors from Kolkata Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners 21st-century Indian screenwriters