Anjan Dutt (born 19 January 1953) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen ( ; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was a Bengali film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, and a few Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu language films. Regarded as on ...

film ''Chaalchitra'', for which he won the best newcomer actor award at the

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 ...

. He acted in Aparna Sen's hit film, '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer''. In 2018 he featured in Swapnasandhani's new play ''Taraye Taraye'', as

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

, under the direction of Kaushik Sen. He is also a national award-winning filmmaker and is one of the most prominent directors of Bengali cinema, directing '' Dutta Vs Dutta'', '' Madly Bangalee'', '' The Bong Connection'', '' Chalo Let's Go'', and '' Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona''. In recent years, he has directed a '' Byomkesh'' film series.He is mainly famous for his bengali adventure movies

Early years

Anjan Dutta was raised in the mountains of

North Bengal North Bengal ( , Uttar Banga) is a cross-border cultural–geographic region consisting of the north-western areas of Bangladesh as well as the northern part of the West Bengal state of India. Bounded to the east by the Jamuna and in the south ...

. He had his schooling from St. Paul's School in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

. He completed his graduation of BA English literature from

Calcutta university 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 ...

In the late teens, he joined a group called Open Theatre and in the early twenties performed plays translated from the works of renowned foreign playwrights like

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...

, Peter Weiss,

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

and

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

. The group clearly drew inspiration from Nandikar, a highly active and already famous theatre group at the time. Due to politically sensitive content, they faced many obstructions in producing and performing their work, and eventually, the group discontinued its repertoire. Dutta was first selected for the feature film ''Chalachitro'', directed by renowned filmmaker

. The film and his performance were critically acclaimed at the

, but for unknown reasons, was never released commercially. Dutt said that he was more interested in doing art cinema than commercial mainstream cinema. After doing a few

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

s that were not so commercially successful, including the critically well-received ''Juganto'', scarcity of job opportunities forced him to take up jobs in advertising and later as a journalist for the Kolkata-based daily, '' The Statesman''.

Singing career

At that time, Dutta was greatly influenced by the music of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, Kabir Suman who had heralded a new era in Bengali music through his songs. These songs and lyrics, commonly referred to as ''Jeebonmukhi (জীবনমুখী )''(literally meaning "towards life"), were concerned with the tough reality of Bengali middle-class social life, in and around

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Personal life

Anjan Dutt is married to Chanda Dutt. They have a son together- Neel Dutt, who is a music director in the Indian industry.

Discography

Albums

* ''Shunte Ki Chao'' (1994) * ''Purono Guitar'' (1995) * ''Bhalobashi Tomay'' (1996) * ''Keu Gaan Gaye'' (1997) * ''Ma'' (1998) * ''Chalo Bodlai'' (1998) * ''Priyo Bandhu'' (1998) * ''Hello Bangladesh'' (1999) * ''Kolkata–16'' (1999) * ''Bandra Blues'' (2000) * ''Asamoy'' (2000) * ''Rawng Pencil'' (2001) * ''Onek Din Por'' (2004) * ''Ichchhe Korei Eksathe'' (2005) * ''Abar Pothe Dekha (2007)'' * ''Ami ar Godot'' (2007) * ''Unoshaat'' (2014)

Singles (1996–2011)

* "Khawar Gaan" (3:02) (with Nachiketa Chakraborty & Suman Chattopadhyay) * "Hotuk Shob Oshundor" (1:58) (with Shalini Chatterjee, Shayari Das, Tanushree Haldar & Sreetoma Ghosh) * "Feludar Gaan" (3:04) (with Nachiketa Chakraborty & Suman Chattopadhyay) * "Freedom" (5:37) (with Indrani Sen, Indranil Sen & others) * "Sadhinota" (4:50) (with Indrani Sen,

Indranil Sen Indranil Sen (born 3 June 1965) is an Indian politician, Bengali artist, actor, and film producer. He is currently serving as the minister of state of the Tourism Department under the Government of West Bengal since September 2023. He is a mem ...

& others) * "Ekushe Pa" (3:57) * "Bow Barracks Forever!" (4:38) * "Tumi Na thakle" (4:25) (with Usha Ut

Filmography

Awards

Chaalchitra

* 1981 – Best Actor award for film ''Chaalchitra'' at

*1981 – Venice Film Festival for Chaalchitra. * Alitalia Award inner(1981) * Best Actor Tied with Rodolfo Bigotti for Bosco d'amore (1981) For Chaalchitra.

Bong Connection

* Bong Connection was screened at

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York, in 2005.

Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona

* 2012 – National Film Award – Special Jury Award for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona * 2012 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona

Finally Bhalobasha

* 2019 – Best lyrics for Finally Bhalobasha at WBFJA for Nominated.

Chaalchitra Ekhon

*2023 - Special jurry Mention award winner at

Kolkata International Film Festival The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1995, it is the third oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by the West Bengal Film Centre under the W ...

for Chaalchitra Ekhon. *2024 -Best Actor Award Winner at 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival 2024 for Chaalchitra Ekhon. *2024 - Second Best Script winner at Imagine India International Film Festival 2024 for Chaalchitra Ekhon. *2024- Official Selection at Hyderabad Bengali Film Festivalfor Chaalchitra Ekhon. *2025 - Best Film Winner( Critics' Choice) at Anandalok Puraskar *2025 - Best film, Best Actors, Best Director at Imagineindia Film Festival, Madrid, Spain *2025 - Filmfare Awards Bangla 2025 – Best Film (Critics') for '' Chaalchitra Ekhon'' (Shared with Abhinandan Banerjee for Manikbabur Megh) *2025 - Filmfare Awards Bangla 2025 – Best Actor (Critics') for '' Chaalchitra Ekhon'' (Shared with

Chandan Sen Chandan Sen is an Indian Bengali language, Bengali-language stage, television and film actor, playwright and director. Career He started acting in Bengali theatre in 1977. He joined ''Natya Anan'' theatre group as a creative director and an ac ...

for Manikbabur Megh)

Announcement of final stage act and retirement from theatre

In September 2024, Anjan Dutt announced his retirement from the stage. In a public announcement, the actor revealed the poster of his soon-to-be-performed play ''Aro Ekta Lear.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutt, Anjan 1953 births Living people Singers from Kolkata Bengali musicians Bengali film directors Indian television directors St. Paul's School, Darjeeling alumni University of Calcutta alumni Indian male songwriters Film directors from Kolkata 21st-century Indian songwriters 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers Male actors in Bengali cinema Indian male film actors Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners 21st-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian male singers Filmfare Awards Bangla winners