Basu Bhattacharya (1934–19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of

Hindi films 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 ...

. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''

Teesri Kasam ''Teesri Kasam'' () is a 1966 Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. The film stars Raj Kapoo ...

'', starring

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

and

Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress and dancer. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest actresses, Rehman's accolades include a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. Rehman was honoured with the Padma Shri by G ...

(based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" by Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'), which won the

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 se ...

in 1967. The most popular and critically acclaimed film which he directed remains ''

Avishkaar ''Avishkaar'' ( en, Discovery) is a 1974 Hindi movie. Produced and directed by Basu Bhattacharya, the film stars Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. The film was the part of Basu Battacharya's introspective trilogy on marital discord in an urban ...

'', starring

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

and

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

, which received five stars in Bollywood Guide ''Collections'' and for which Khanna received the

Filmfare Best Actor Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was fir ...

in 1975. In 1979, he produced '' Sparsh'', which won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

and the film also won the

Filmfare Best Movie Award The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. Eac ...

. He served as president of the Indian Film Directors' Association from 1976 to 1979. In 1981 he was a member of the jury at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. None of his works were successful after 1983. He started his career in 1958 by assisting

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'', '' ...

in films like ''

Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and John ...

'' and '' Sujata'' and later married Bimal Roy's daughter, Rinki Bhattacharya, much to Bimal Roy's disapproval. This created a rift between him and his mentor. The couple had a son, the director Aditya Bhattacharya, and two daughters: Chimmu and Anwesha Arya, a writer. Later after much domestic abuse, his wife Rinki moved out in 1983, and the couple formally divorced in 1990. Rinki went on to edit an anthology on domestic violence in India, titled, ''Behind Closed Doors – Domestic Violence in India'' and became a successful writer, columnist and documentary filmmaker.

Early life

Basu Bhattacharya hailed from an orthodox

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

family from a small town,

Cossimbazar Cossimbazar is a sub-urban area of Berhampore City in the Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal."Cossimbazar" in ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, ...

, in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Filmography

As director

* Uski Kahani (1966) *

(1966) - Won

* Anubhav (1971) - Won

National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It was one of several a ...

(1973) * Daku (1975) * Tumhara Kalloo (1975) * Sangat (1976) * Known Yet Not Known (1977) * Anand Mahal (1977)(Unreleased) * Madhu Malti (1978) *

Griha Pravesh ''Griha Pravesh'' () is a 1979 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya. The film stars Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore and Sarika. The film, about adultery, was the last of Basu Battacharya's introspective trilogy on ma ...

(1979) * Madhuman (1981) * Horký podzim s vuní manga (1984) * Anveshan (1985) (TV) * Solar Energy (1986) * Science India (1986) * Panchavati (1986) * Ek Saas Zindagi (1991) * Aastha: In the Prison of Spring (1997).

Critical Appreciation

Avishkaar was featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Missed

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Basu Film directors from Kolkata Indian male screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Filmfare Awards winners 1934 births 1997 deaths Bengali Hindus University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian film directors Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award 20th-century Indian screenwriters 20th-century Indian male writers