Abhi Bhattacharya (20 November 1921 – 11 August 1993) was an Indian actor of

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 ...

and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as '' Yatrik'' (1952), '' Jagriti'' (1954), '' Anuradha'' (1960) and '' Subarnarekha'' (1965). In his four decade long acting career he performed in more than 150 films in Hindi and 21 in Bengali. Abhi Bhattacharya worked with eminent film directors of India such as

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily rememb ...

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of India ...

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as '' Do Bigha Zamin'', '' Parineeta'', '' Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas'', ''Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' ...

and Satyen Bose.

Early life

Abhi was born in a village close to ''

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous division and district. Located on the north bank of the P ...

'' town of undivided

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

(now in Bangladesh). He lost his mother at the age of seven. After his father remarried, young Abhi was sent to ''

Gaya (India) Gaya (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is a city, municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Gaya district and Magadh division of the Indian state of Bihar. Gaya is south of Patna and is the state's ...

'' to live with his maternal uncle and spent his formative years. He did well in school and sports. His aunt inculcated in him the love for drama, music and poetry, particularly those 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 ...

. Gradually he developed a passion for films. After graduation, he started working at an American air base.

Film career

His film career started when Hiten Chaudhuri asked him to come to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

for film related work. While in Bombay he applied for the screen test in response to an advertisement of

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After R ...

and was selected in the role of hero in "Noukadubi", a film based on a novel by Tagore, directed by Nitin Bose Bhattacharya subsequently shifted to Calcutta when

Birendranath Sircar Birendranath Sircar (also Sarkar; 5 July 1901 – 28 November 1980) was an Indian film producer and the founder of New Theatres Calcutta. He made Bengali-language films that were noted for introducing many film directors who later became famou ...

of '' New Theatres'' invited him to act in the double version film ''Mahaprasthaner Pathey (1952)'' (Bengali) / '' Yatrik'' Hindi (1952). Around the same time he acted in the film ''Ratnadeep (1951)'' (Hindi), directed by Debaki Bose. Tamil version of the film, '' Ratna Deepam'' was released subsequently. In 1950s and in 1960s, Abhi Bhattacharya was quite sought after by the directors and producers of the Bombay film industry and he played opposite heroines like

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era ...

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

Geeta Bali Geeta Bali (born Harkirtan Kaur; 1930 ‒ 21 January 1965) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi language films. She was the wife of noted film actor Shammi Kapoor. Early life Geeta Bali was born as Harikirtan Kaur in Amritsar in the Pu ...

Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi Chakraborty (''née'' Mukherjee; born 10 February 1942) is an Indian actress. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Bengali film ''Dibratrir Kabya''. She has acted in some of the most critically ac ...

. His other memorable films included ''Biraj Bahu (1954)'' by

, '' Jagriti'' (1954) and ''Parichay (1954)'' by Satyen Bose, ''Naata (1955)'' by D.N.Madhok, '' Sailaab (1956)'' by

, ''Apradhi Kaun (1957)'' by Asit Sen, ''

Subarnarekha (film) ''Subarnarekha'' ( bn, সুবর্ণরেখা ''Subarṇarekhā'') is an Indian Bengali film directed by Ritwik Ghatak. It was produced in 1962 but not released until 1965. It is a part of the trilogy that includes '' Meghe Dhaka Tara' ...

'' (1965) in Bangla by

, ''Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (1966)'' by Hemen Gupta. He won

Filmfare award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

(1956) for his role as the ''Best Supporting actor'' in the film '' Jagriti''.

Religious activism

Later in life, around 1971, he gradually began to focus more on spirituality through his association with Dadaji (whose name as a householder was Shri Amiya Roy Chowdhury). Bhattacharya became Dadaji's companion and helped spread his teachings. For about last two decades of his life, whenever Dadaji came to Bombay, Bhattacharya's house at Carter road acted as a rallying point for distinguished people from different walks of life who wanted to meet Dadaji. Abhi Bhattacharya wrote a book, narrating his realisations from experiences with Dadaji, titled ''Destiny with Dadaji''. The book was edited by Ann Mills, who made it public online.

Filmography

* ''

Noukadubi ''Noukadubi'' ( bn, নৌকাডুবি, ''Boat wreck'') is a Bengali novel written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1906. The novel was first published in Bangadarshan, a Bengali literary magazine which was under the editorship of Rabindranat ...

'' (1947) * '' Yatrik'' (1952) * '' Biraj Bahu'' (1954) * '' Ratna Deepam'' (1953) * '' Jagriti'' (1954) *'' Naata'' (1955) * '' Sailaab'' (1956) * '' Apradhi Kaun?'' (1957) * '' Anuradha'' (1960) * '' Meghe Dhaka Tara'' (1960) * '' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1961) * ''

Dosti Dosti may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dosti'' (1964 film), an Indian black-and-white Hindi film. * ''Dosti'' (1971 film), a Pakistani Urdu film * '' Dosti: Friends Forever'', a 2005 Indian Hindi romantic-drama buddy film * ''Dosti'' ...

'' (1964) as Headmaster * '' Subarnarekha'' (1965) * ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

'' (1965) * '' Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna'' (1966) * ''

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

'' (1966) * '' Naunihal'' (1967) * '' Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai'' (1967) * '' ''Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke'' (1969) * '' Aradhana'' (1969) * '' Seema'' (1971) * '' Sansar'' (1971) * '' Amar Prem'' (1972) * ''

Seeta Aur Geeta ''Seeta aur Geeta'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film, written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) and directed by Ramesh Sippy. It stars Hema Malini, Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar in leading roles, and features mus ...

'' (1972) * ''

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

'' (1972) *''

Mera Desh Mera Dharam ''Mera Desh Mera Dharam'' is a 1973 Bollywood drama film directed by Dara Singh. The film stars Dara Singh and Raj Kapoor. Soundtrack Prem Dhawan composed and wrote all the songs. #"Luta Di Hasino Pe Jawani Luta Di" - ''Shaminder'', Manna Dey ...

'' (1973) * '' Bhagat Dhanna Jatt'' (1974) * '' Dost'' (1974) * ''

Imtihan ''Imtihan'' () is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language film starring Vinod Khanna, Tanuja and Bindu. The story of the film revolves around an idealistic professor who decides to reform a group of rowdy students at a college. It is inspired by the 1967 ...

'' (1974) * '' Amanush'' (1975) * '' Pratigya'' (1975) * ''

Do Anjaane ''Do Anjaane'' () is a 1976 Hindi-language drama film, produced by Tito, it is directed by Dulal Guha and based on the story ''Rater gari'' of Nihar Ranjan Gupta. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Prem Chopra, Pradeep Kumar, Utpal Dutt, ...

'' (1976) * '' Phool aur Insaan'' (1976) *'' Solah Shukrawar'' (1977)... Acharya * '' Mera Rakshak'' (1978) * ''

Dhuan ''Dhuan'' ( hi, Smoke) is a 1981 Hindi-language thriller film, produced by Gautham Guha under the Sri Sai Chitra banner and directed by Dulal Guha. It stars Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta, Raakhee, Amjad Khan and Jeetendra in a guest appearance ...

'' (1981) * '' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981) * ''Commander'' (1981) * '' Hari Darshan'' (1982) –

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

in various avatars * '' Jamuna Kinare'' (1984) – Pandit Baijnath * ''

Harishchandra Shaibya ''Harishchandra Shaibya'' is a Bengali religious drama film directed by Ardhendu Chatterjee based on Hindu mythological story of legendary King Harishchandra. This film was released on 30 August 1985 under the banner of B. B. M. Group Of Produ ...

'' (1985) * '' Woh Din Aayega'' (1987) as Thakur * '' Khooni Darinda'' (1987) – Jagatguru Sankaracharya, Jailor * '' Daku Hasina'' (1987) – Village School Master * '' Khudgarz'' (1987) - Minister (Special Appearance) * ''

Sadak Chhap ''Sadak Chhap'' is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language action drama film produced and directed by Anil Ganguly. It stars Jackie Shroff, Padmini Kolhapure, Richa Sharma in pivotal roles. Cast * Jackie Shroff as Shankar * Padmini Kolhapure as Anju * ...

'' (1987) - Police Commissioner (Special Appearance) * '' Hamara Khandaan'' (1988) - Doctor (Special Appearance) * '' Aakhri Badla'' (1989) - Dr Sen, Scientist

Awards

* 1956: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award: '' Jagriti'' (1954)Awards
''

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''.

References

External links

*
Abhi Bhattacharya Filmography at Chakpak

''Destiny with Dadaji''
his written book on spiritual journey with Dadaji Amiya Roy Choudhary (PDF {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Abhi 1921 births 1993 deaths Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Bengali cinema University of Calcutta alumni Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian male actors