Asim Basu ( or, ଅସୀମ ବସୁ) was an Indian

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

artiste and director,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, art director,

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Basu was known for his

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

work in

Ollywood The Odia film industry, colloquially known as Ollywood, is the Odia language Indian film industry, based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood. Industry In 1974, th ...

movies and designing Odia book covers and

movie poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. Th ...

Early life

He was born in 1935, to Motilal Basu and Bijanbala Basu in Kakhada village, Bhogarai, Balasore district. When Basu was in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

during his college days, he chanced to work with actor

Utpal Dutt Utpal Dutta () (29 March 1929 – 19 August 1993) was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little T ...

in Minerva Theatre, Kolkata and his talents flourished in acting, direction and stage designing there. He came back to

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

and formed a theatre group “Rupakar”.

Career

Basu made his debut in play as a director with Bijay Mishra's 'Duiti Surya Dagdha Phula Ku Nei'. He directed around 200 plays. He has worked as a stage designer for over 500 plays and was the art director for several Odia films. He was an art-director in films like Chha Mana Atha Guntha, Indradhanura Chhai and Shodh (Hindi). He also made his appearances in many Tele films and films like Chha Mana Atha Guntha, Jaga Balia and Dadagiri.

Death

A fund was raised by state government’s Culture department and Khordha district administration for his treatment. Basu died from lung

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable d ...

on 1 February 2017 in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

, Odisha at the age of 81.

Filmography

In popular culture

* 'Asim Basu Memorial Award' presented by Nandanik, a Theatre group based in Koraput, Odisha was given to encourage the young theatre artist.

Awards

* Basu was awarded the state Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998. * He was awarded with Parampara Samman in 2012.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Asim 1935 births 2017 deaths Indian production designers Indian male painters Odia dramatists and playwrights People from Balasore district 20th-century Indian painters 20th-century Indian designers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Odisha Painters from Odisha 20th-century Indian male artists Respiratory disease deaths in India Infectious disease deaths in India Deaths from respiratory tract infection