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

Bagh Bahadur ''Bagh Bahadur'' ( bn, বাঘ বাহাদুর, translation: ''The Tiger Dancer'') is a 1989 Bengali drama film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. The film is about a man who paints himself as a tiger and dances in a village ...

'', '' Tahader Katha'', ''

Charachar ''Charachar'' ( English language:''Shelter of the Wings'', bn, চরাচর ) is a 1993 Bengali drama film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta based on a novel by Prafulla Roy. Plot Lakha (Rajit Kapoor) comes from a family of bird ...

'' and ''

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places * Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh * Uttara, a suburb north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana *Uttaradit, a city i ...

''. Five of his films have 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 ...

, ''Bagh Bahadur'' (1989), ''Charachar'' (1993), '' Lal Darja'' (1997), ''

Mondo Meyer Upakhyan ''Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' ( Bengali: ''মন্দ মেয়ের উপাখ্যান'') is a 2002 Indian Bengali-language film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. The film was also released under the English title ''A Tale of A ...

'' (2002) and '' Kaalpurush'' (2008), while ''

Dooratwa ''Dooratwa'' ( en, Distance) is a 1981 Bengali film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. It won the National film award for best feature film in Bengali. Plot (P. Mukherjee), marries a young woman, Anjali. When the former rebel learns ...

'' (1978) and ''Tahader Katha'' (1993) have won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali 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 severa ...

. As a director, he has won National Film Award for Best Direction twice, for ''Uttara'' (2000) and ''

Swapner Din ''Swapner Din'' (English language, English: ''Chased by Dreams'', translation: ''A Day of Dreams'') is a 2004 Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali Drama (film and television), drama film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta, who won the National ...

'' (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 Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...

in Southern

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 ...

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

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

, 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 state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is ...

. Post-independence his father was transferred first to

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmop ...

West Midnapore district Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba ...

and

Manendragarh Manendragarh, is a city and administrative district headquarters of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Formerly, it was the part of Koriya district. It is situated near the Chhattisgarh-Madhya Prades ...

(now in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...

). He studied economics 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 ...

and the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

Career

Buddhadeb started his career as a lecturer of Economics, at the

Shyamsundar College Syamsundar College, established in 1948, is the general degree college in Shyamsundar, Purba Bardhaman district. It offers undergraduate courses in arts, commerce and sciences. It is affiliated to The University of Burdwan. History Syamsu ...

of the

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 with ...

followed by

City College, Calcutta City College is a composite fully state government-aided public college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Established in 1881, it is one of the heritage institutions of Kolkata, and played a prominent role in the wake of the Benga ...

. 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 Calcutta Film Society was India’s second film society in the city of Kolkata (then Calcutta), West Bengal, India. It was founded in 1947, just after independence, by Satyajit Ray, Chidananda Dasgupta, RP Gupta, Bansi Chandragupta, Harisadh ...

, 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 Jr. (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 conside ...

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the Italian neorealism, neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Shoeshine (film), Sciuscià ...

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

, and

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

. 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, ''

'' (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 director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

'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) *''

'' (1978) (Distance) *'' Neem Annapurna'' (1979) (Bitter Morsel) *''

Grihajuddha ''Grihajuddha'' (English language:''Crossroads'') is a 1982 Bengali film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta and starring Sunil Mukherjee. The film was produced under contract from the Government of West Bengal. The Naxalite movement i ...

'' (1982) (The Civil War) *'' Andhi Gali'' (1984) (Blind Alley, Hindi) *'' Phera'' (1988) (The Return) *''

'' (1989) (The Tiger Man) *'' Tahader Katha'' (1992) (Their Story) *''

'' (1993) (Shelter of the Wings) *'' Lal Darja'' (1997) (The Red Door) *''

'' (2000) (The Wrestlers) *''

'' (2002) (A Tale of a Naughty Girl) *''

'' (2004) (Chased by Dreams) *'' Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala'' (2007) (The Voyeurs) *'' Kaalpurush'' (2008) (Memories in the Mist) *''

Janala ''Janala'' ( The window) is a 2009 Bengali film directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta and produced under Reliance Pictures banner. The music of the film was composed by Biswadeb Dasgupta. The film received best film's title in the 54th Asia Pacific Fil ...

'' (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 most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

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 The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

*** 1989:

*** 1993:

*** 1997: Lal Darja *** 2002:

*** 2008: Kaalpurush **

Best Direction The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly rename ...

*** 2000:

*** 2005:

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

*** 1987: Phera ** Best Feature Film in Bengali *** 1978:

*** 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 ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

** 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 world fo ...

award:

** 2000:

Silver Lion The Silver Lion ( it, Leone d'argento, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The pri ...

for Best Director:

** 1982:

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

nomination:

** 2000:

nomination:

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

** 1988:

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

nomination: Phera **

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

nomination:

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

** Critic's Award:

** Special Jury Award: Neem Annapurna *

Asia Pacific Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Tok ...

** Best Film:

* 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):

Family

His youngest daughter,

Alokananda Dasgupta Alokananda Dasgupta is a contemporary music composer. She was pursuing her Masters in English Literature at Calcutta University when she decided to pursue her lifelong passion for music in Toronto, where she completed a Bachelors of Music with ...

, 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 film directors 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 University of Burdwan faculty University of Calcutta faculty Indian documentary filmmakers Indian male screenwriters Best Director National Film Award winners City College, Kolkata faculty 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

Early life and education

Career

Filmography

Feature films

Documentary and TV work

Awards

Family

Death

Further reading

References

External links