Nilkantha Bagchi (alternative spelling Neelkantha Bagchi) is an iconic Bengali cinema

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

that first appeared in 1977 in

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 ...

's ''

Jukti Takko Aar Gappo ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo'' (''Jukti tôkko aːr gôppo'', ''Reason, Debate and a Story'') is a 1974 Bengali film directed by auteur of Indian cinema Ritwik Ghatak. ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo'' was Ritwik Ghatak's last film. The film was believed t ...

''. In the 2013 film '' Meghe Dhaka Tara'', the character portrayed by

Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majum ...

was named Nilkantha Bagchi. Chatterjee's character was based on the personality of Ritwik Ghatak. The character of Debshankar, a painter, in the 2009 Bengali film ''

Chha-e Chhuti ''Chha-e Chhuti'' (2009) is an Indian Bengali Comedy drama film directed by Aniket Chattopadhyay. Plot A technician's accidental death leads to a workers' union's strike for a week. Few television actors with their director go to a trip to an ...

'', partially resembled Ritwik Ghatak's personality and Nilkantha Bagchi of ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo''. Debshankar delivered one of the most memorable quotations from ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo'', saying, ''ভাবো, ভাবা প্র্যাকটিস কর'' ("Think, practice thinking").

Jukti Takko Aar Gappo

'', made in 1974 and released in 1977, was Ghatak's last film. The film is considered to be the autobiographical film of Ghatak's alter ego. The film shows Nilkantha Bagchi, the protagonist, as an alcoholic, disillusioned Bengali intellectual. The film is set against the backdrop of the first Naxalite wave of rebellion in India. Ghatak explained, "In it the political backdrop of West Bengal from 1971 to 1972 as I saw it has been portrayed. There is no ideology. I saw it from a point of view of not a politician. I am not supposed to please a political ideology". Ghatak was aware of a complete breakdown of moral values around him, especially among the younger generation. He tried to portray these issues in this film and in his unfinished film ''Sei Vishnupriya''.

Meghe Dhaka Tara (2013)

In 2013, Bengali film director

Kamaleswar Mukherjee Kamaleswar Mukherjee, M.B.B.S. is an Indian film director, actor, and physician known for his work in Bengali-language films. Films directed by him include ''Chander Pahar'' (2013), '' Meghe Dhaka Tara'' (2013), ''Amazon Obhijaan'' (2017) ' ...

made '' Meghe Dhaka Tara''. The film was based on Ghatak's life and struggle. The name of the protagonist, Nilkantha Bagchi, was adopted from ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo''. The name of film was inspired from Ghatak's film '' Meghe Dhaka Tara'' (1969). The protagonist Nilkantha Bagchi (played by Saswata Chatterjee) resembled Ghatak's real life character.

Influence

The character Nilkantha Bagchi is considered a cultural icon of Bengali cinema. The character of Debshankar, a painter in the 2009 Bengali film ''Chha-e Chhuti'', partially resembled Ghatak's personality and that of Nilkantha Bagchi of ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo''. Debshankar also delivered one of the film's most famous lines, saying, ''Bhabo, bhaba practice koro'' ("Think, practise thinking").

References

{{Cinema of West Bengal Ritwik Ghatak Fictional Bengali people Drama film characters Indian film characters Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional Indian people Fictional artists Film characters introduced in 1977