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

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places *Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana ...

''. Five of his films have won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, ''Bagh Bahadur'' (1989), ''Charachar'' (1993), '' Lal Darja'' (1997), '' Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (2002) and '' Kaalpurush'' (2008), while '' Dooratwa'' (1978) and ''Tahader Katha'' (1993) have won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. As a director, he has won National Film Award for Best Direction twice, for ''Uttara'' (2000) and '' Swapner Din'' (2005). Over the years he has published several works of poetry including ''Govir Araley'', ''Coffin Kimba Suitcase'', ''Himjog'', ''Chhaata Kahini'', ''Roboter Gaan'', ''Sreshtha Kabita'', and ''Bhomboler Ascharya Kahini O Ananya Kabita''.

Early life and education

Buddhadeb Dasgupta was born in a Vaidya family in 1944 in Anara near Puruliya in Southern

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, and was the third of nine siblings. His father Tarkanta Dasgupta was a doctor with the

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

, thus he spent the early part of childhood traveling. At the age of twelve, he was sent to Calcutta to study, earlier at Shibpur SSPS Vidyalaya and later at Dinabandhu School,

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

. Post-independence his father was transferred first to Kharagpur in West Midnapore district and Manendragarh (now in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

). He studied economics at the Scottish Church College and the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

Career

Buddhadeb started his career as a lecturer of Economics, at the Shyamsundar College of the University of Burdwan followed by City College, Calcutta. In 1976, when disenchanted by the gap he perceived between the economic theory he taught and the socio-political reality, he took to film making. Meanwhile, his membership with the Calcutta Film Society, where he started going in his senior high school along with his uncle, exposed him to the works of directors like

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

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, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, and

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

. This, in turn, inspired him to take film making as a mode of expression. He started his film career with a 10-minute documentary in 1968, ''The Continent of Love''; eventually he made his first full-length feature film, '' Dooratwa'' (Distance) in 1978. His lyricism has been extended to cinema as well. During the early stages of his film career, Dasgupta made films inspired by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

's realistic films and later moved on to other forms. Some of his most acclaimed films are ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara''.

Filmography

Feature films

*'' Samayer Kache'' (1968) (short) *'' Dooratwa'' (1978) (Distance) *'' Neem Annapurna'' (1979) (Bitter Morsel) *'' Grihajuddha'' (1982) (The Civil War) *'' Andhi Gali'' (1984) (Blind Alley, Hindi) *'' Phera'' (1988) (The Return) *'' Bagh Bahadur'' (1989) (The Tiger Man) *'' Tahader Katha'' (1992) (Their Story) *'' Charachar'' (1993) (Shelter of the Wings) *'' Lal Darja'' (1997) (The Red Door) *''

'' (2000) (The Wrestlers) *'' Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (2002) (A Tale of a Naughty Girl) *'' Swapner Din'' (2004) (Chased by Dreams) *'' Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala'' (2007) (The Voyeurs) *'' Kaalpurush'' (2008) (Memories in the Mist) *'' Janala'' (2009) (The Window) *''Mukti'' (2012) *'' Choli Ke Pichey'' (2012) (TV Movie) *''Arjun'' (2012) (TV Movie) *''The Station'' (2013) (TV Movie) *'' Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa'' (2013) (Sniffer, Hindi) *'' Tope'' (2017) *'' Urojahaj (2018)''

Documentary and TV work

*''The Continent of Love'' (1968) *'' Dholer Raja Khirode Natta'' (1973) *''Fishermen of Sundarban'' (1974) *''Saratchandra'' (1975) *''Rhythm of Steel'' (1981) *''Indian Science Marches Ahead'' (1984) *''Vigyan O Tar Avishkar'' (1980) *''Story of Glass'' (1985) *''India on the Move'' (1985) *''Ceramics'' (1986) *''Aranyak'' (1996) *'' Contemporary Indian Sculpture'' (1987) *''History of Indian Jute'' (1990)

Awards

* Buddhadeb Dasgupta was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the Spain International Film Festival in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on 27 May 2008.Merchant of Dreams: Buddhadeb Dasgupta gets lifetime achievement award at the Spain International Film Festival
''The Tribune'', 31 May 2008. * Golden Athena Award at the Athens International Film Festival in 2007 * National Film Award ** Best Film *** 1989: Bagh Bahadur *** 1993: Charachar *** 1997: Lal Darja *** 2002: Mondo Meyer Upakhyan *** 2008: Kaalpurush ** Best Direction *** 2000:

*** 2005: Swapner Din ** Best Screenplay *** 1987: Phera ** Best Feature Film in Bengali *** 1978: Dooratwa *** 1987: Phera *** 1993: Tahader Katha ** Best Arts/Cultural Film *** 1998: ''A Painter of Eloquent Silence: Ganesh Pyne'' *

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

** 1982:

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

award: Grihajuddha ** 2000: Silver Lion for Best Director:

** 1982: Golden Lion nomination: Grihajuddha ** 2000: Golden Lion nomination:

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

** 1988:

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

nomination: Phera **

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

nomination: Charachar * Locarno Film Festival ** Critic's Award: Dooratwa ** Special Jury Award: Neem Annapurna * Asia Pacific Film Festival ** Best Film: Janala * Karlovy Vary Film Festival ** Special Jury Award: Neem Annapurna * Damascus International Film Festival ** Golden Prize: Neem Annapurna * Bangkok International Film Festival **Best Asian Film Award (2003): Mondo Meyer Upakhyan

Family

His youngest daughter, Alokananda Dasgupta, a trained classical pianist, composed the background score for his 2013 film, ''Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa''.

Death

He died at the age of 77 on 10 June 2021.

References

External links

*
Merchant of Dreams: Buddhadeb Dasgupta gets lifetime achievement award at the Spain International Film Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Buddhadeb 1944 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Indian people Film directors from Kolkata People from Purulia district Bengali film producers Bengali film directors Film theorists Indian film score composers Bengali-language writers Culture of Kolkata Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Burdwan Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Indian documentary filmmakers Indian male screenwriters Best Director National Film Award winners Academic staff of City College, Kolkata Hindi-language film directors Bengali male poets Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners Producers who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Venice Best Director Silver Lion winners