Amalendu Biswas (; 29 May 1925 – 13 October 1987) was a Bangladeshi stage actor. Calling ''Jatra Samrat'', he specialized in '' jatra pala'' genre. He won ''Sequence of Merit Award'' by

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (; ) or simply known as Shilpakala Academy is the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh. It is a academy of fine and performing arts. History It is the national academy of fine and pe ...

in 1980. He was awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

by the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

posthumously in 1989.

Early life and education

Biswas was born in 1925, whilst his father Surendralal Biswas was working at the customs department in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. He belonged to a Hindu family originally from the village of Masjidia in

Sitakunda Sitakunda or Sitakunda Town () is an administrative centre and the sole municipality (''Paurashava'') of Sitakunda Upazila in Chattogram District, located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Sitakunda is famous for the Chandranath Temple and Hin ...

Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...

. He later returned to Chittagong during his childhood, and completed his matriculation in 1941. He passed his FA from Robertson College in 1944.

Career

Biswas started his career at the

British Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...

. He left the service during World War II and formed a jatra troupe ''Charanika Jatra Shamaj''. He performed with the troupe '' Natta Company'' while he was in Kolkata. As a result of the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, he opted for Pakistan and returned to

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. He served in department of railways in East Pakistan. A police warrant was issued against him for joining the 1969 mass uprising against

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

Personal life

Biswas was married to Jyotsna Biswas. Actress Aruna Biswas is their daughter.

Legacy

In 2003, annual ''Amalendu Biswas Memorial Award'' was launched by Bangladesh Jatra Shilpa Unnayan Parishad (BJSUP) to award notable theater actors.

Works

* ''Hitler'' * ''Janoar'' * ''Sirajuddaulah'' * ''Ekti Paisa'' * ''Michel Modhushudan''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Amalendu 1925 births 1987 deaths Bangladeshi male stage actors Recipients of the Ekushey Padak 20th-century Bangladeshi male actors Male actors from Yangon People from Sitakunda Upazila Bangladeshi Hindus