Birendranath Sircar (also Sarkar; 5 July 1901 – 28 November 1980) was an Indian film producer and the founder of New Theatres Calcutta. He made

Bengali-language Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is native to the Bengal region (Bangladesh, India's West Bengal and Tripura) of South ...

films that were noted for introducing many film directors who later became famous. He was awarded the

Dada Saheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema, given by the Government of India and presented annually at the National Film Awards. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and ...

in 1970 and the third highest civilian award in India, the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, in 1972.

Early life

B. N. Sircar was born in

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, historically known as Champapuri, Champa Nagari, is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. It is the Bihar#Government and administration, third largest city of Bihar by population and ...

to the then

Advocate-General of Bengal The Advocate-General of Bengal was charged with advising the Government of the British administered Bengal Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1765 to 1947. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, t ...

, Sir Nripendra Nath Sircar. He was the grandson of Nagendra Nath Sircar, and great-grandson of Peary Charan Sarkar, the principal of

Hare School Hare School is one of the oldest schools in Kolkata, India, teaching grades one to twelve under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. It is a state government-administered boys ...

, Calcutta. After completing his study at

Hindu School, Kolkata Hindu School is a state government-administered school in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest modern educational institution in Asia (then known as ''Hindu College''). The institution played a key role during Bengal R ...

, he studied Engineering at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and on returning to India he was asked to build a cinema. The project caused him to develop a keen interest in film and he proceeded to build a cinema for the screening of Bengali-language films. Called Chitra, this was opened in Calcutta by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

on 30 December 1930 and was followed by the construction of New Cinema, which showed Hindi films. He then decided to involve himself in making of two silent films.

Career

On 10 February 1931, he founded New Theatres Calcutta. He was the President of the BMPA in the late 1940s

Filmography

Sircar's films include: * ''

Dena Paona ''Dena Paona'' (; ) is a 1931 Bengali film directed by Premankur Atorthy, starring Amar Mullick, Durgadas Bannerjee, Jahar Ganguly, Nibhanani Devi, and Bhanu Bandopadhyay. Based on a novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and produced by Ne ...

'' (Released 30 December 1931) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * ''

Natir Puja ''Natir Puja'' ( English:the dancing girl's worship) is the only film where Rabindranath Tagore is credited as director. This film is a recording of Tagore's 1926 stage dance-drama of the same name. Background The dramatized version of Tagore ...

'' (Released 22 March 1932) * '' Punarjanma'' (Released 2 April 1932) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * ''

Mohabbat Ke Ansu ''Mohabbat Ke Ansu'' () is a 1932 Indian Urdu-language social romantic film. It was directed by Premankur Atorthy for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The music for the film was directed by R. C. Boral. The film starred K. L. Saigal in his debut ro ...

'' Urdu, (Released 1932) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * '' Zinda Lash'' Urdu, (Released 1932) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * ''

Chirakumar Sabha ''Chirakumar Sabha'' (English: ''A Conference of Bachelors'') is a 1932 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Premankur Atorthy. The music of the film was composed by R. C. Boral who used Tagore's songs as lyrics. It was one of the first of ...

'' (Released 28 May 1932) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * '' Pallisamaj'' (Released 1 July 1932) – Directed by

Sisir Bhaduri Shishir Kumar Bhaduri or Sisir Kumar Bhaduri (2 October 1889 – 30 June 1959) was an Indian stage actor and theatre founder, commonly referred to as the pioneer of modern Bengali theatre. He was an actor, director, playwright and scenic desig ...

* ''

Chandidas Chandidas (1339–1399, ) was a medieval Bengali poet from India, or possibly more than one. He wrote over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in medieval Bengali. The poems of Chandidas with ''bhanita'' are found with three di ...

'' (Released 24 September 1932) – Directed by

Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...

* '' Kapalkundala'' (Released 20 May 1933) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * '' Mastuto Bhai (short)'' (Released 20 May 1933) – Directed by Dhirendranath Gangopadhyay * ''

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

'' (Released 26 October 1933) – Directed by

* ''

Mirabai Meera, better known as Mirabai, and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. She is mentioned in '' Bhaktama ...

'' (Released 11 November 1933) – Directed by

* '' Excuse Me Sir (short)'' (Released 30 March 1934) – Directed by Dhirendranath Gangopadhyay * '' Ruplekha'' (Released 14 April 1934) – Directed by

P.C. Barua Pramathesh Chandra Barua (24 October 1903 – 29 November 1951) was an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter of Indian films in the pre-independence era, born in Gauripur, Dhubri, Assam. Early life Barua was the son of the royal family o ...

* '' P.Brothers (Cartoon)'' (Released 23 June 1934) – Directed by

Raichand Boral Rai Chand Boral (19 October 1903 – 25 November 1981) was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indi ...

* ''

Mahua Mahua or Mahuaa may refer to: Botany * '' Madhuca longifolia'' or mahua, a tree in the family Sapotaceae * ''Mahua'' (moss), a genus of mosses in family Hypnaceae Culture and entertainment * Mahua (snack), a Chinese fried dough twist * Mahuli ...

'' (Released 31 August 1934) – Directed by Hiren Bose * ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' (, transliterated as ''Dēbôdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden childhood love ...

'' (Released 30 March 1935) – Directed by

Nitin Bose Nitin Bose (26 April 1897 – 14 April 1986) was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter of the nation's film industry. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city. In the 1930s and early 40s, he worked with New Theatr ...

* '' Abaseshe (short)'' (Released 24 August 1935) – Directed by Dineshranjan Das * '' Bhagyachakra'' (Released 3 October 1935) – Directed by

* '' Grihadaha'' (Released 10 October 1936) – Directed by

* '' Mando Ki (short)'' (Released 21 October 1936) – Directed by

Tulsi Lahiri Tulsi Lahiri (7 April 1897 – 22 June 1959) was a Bengali actor, director and play writer. Early life Lahiri was born in 1897 in a zamindar family of Naldanga village, Rangpur of British India. He passed B.A and B.L and started his lawyer caree ...

* ''

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

'' (Released 23 December 1936) – Directed by

* ''

Didi Didi Chuxing Technology Company is a Chinese vehicle for hire company headquartered in Beijing with over 550 million users and tens of millions of drivers. The company provides app-based transportation services, including taxi hailing, private ...

'' (Released 3 April 1937) – Directed by

* '' Mukti'' (Released 18 September 1937) – Directed by

* ''

Arghya ''Tarpana'' or (, , , ) is a term in the Vedic practice that refers to an offering made to divine entities. It refers to the act of offering as well as the substance used in the offering. ''Tilatarpana'' (, , , ) is a specific form of ''tarpana ...

(short)'' (Released 25 September 1937) * '' Bidyapati'' (Released 2 April 1938) – Directed by

* '' Abhignan'' (Released 11 June 1938) – Directed by Prafulla Ray * '' Desher mati'' (Released 17 August 1938) – Directed by

* '' Achinpriya'' (Released 29 October 1938) – Directed by Dhirendranath Gangopadhyay * '' Sathi'' (Released 3 December 1938) – Directed by

Phani Majumdar Phani Majumdar was a pioneering Indian film director, who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most known for his film ''Street Singer (1938 film), Street Singer'' (1938) starring K.L. Saigal noted for its song, ''Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaye'' ...

* '' Adhikar'' (Released 12 January 1939) – Directed by

* '' Baradidi'' (Released 7 April 1939) – Directed by Amar Mullik * '' Sapure'' (Released 27 May 1939) – Directed by

* '' Rajat Jayanti'' (Released 12 August 1939) – Directed by

* '' Jiban Maran'' (Released 14 October 1939) – Directed by

* '' Parajoy'' (Released 22 March 1940) – Directed by Hemchandra Chandra * '' Daktar'' (Released 31 August 1940) – Directed by

* '' Abhinetri'' (Released 30 November 1940) – Directed by Amar Mullik * '' Nartaki'' (Released 18 January 1941) – Directed by

* '' Parichoy'' (Released 25 April 1941) – Directed by

* '' Pratishruti'' (Released 14 August 1941) – Directed by Hemchandra Chandra * '' Shodhbodh'' (Released 28 March 1942) – Directed by Soumen Mukhopadhyay * ''

Minakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...

'' (Released 12 June 1942) – Directed by Madhu Bose * '' Priyo Bandhabi'' (Released 23 January 1943) – Directed by Soumen Mukhopadhyay * '' Kashinath'' (Released 2 April 1943) – Directed by

* '' Dikshul'' (Released 12 June 1943) – Directed by Premankur Atarthi * '' Udayer Pathey'' (Released 1 September 1944) – Directed by

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as , '' Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', '' Devdas'', '' Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' Parakh'' and '' Ba ...

* '' Dui Purush'' (Released 30 August 1945) – Directed by Subodh Mitra * '' Biraj Bou'' (Released 5 July 1946) – Directed by Amar Mullik * '' Nurse Sisi'' (Released 27 April 1947) – Directed by Subodh Mitra * '' Ramer Sumati'' (Released 24 December 1947) – Directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay * '' Pratibad'' (Released 19 June 1948) – Directed by Hemchandra Chandra * '' Anjangarh'' (Released 24 September 1948) – Directed by

* '' Mantramugdha'' (Released 14 January 1949) – Directed by

* ''

Bishnupriya Vishnupriya Devi () Bishnupriya Debi , was the daughter of Raj Pandit Sanatan Mishra and second wife of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. She is believed to be the reincarnation of the Goddess Satyabhama, the third queen consort of Krishna in Dwarka. Life ...

'' (Released 7 October 1949) – Directed by Hemchandra Chandra * '' Rupkatha'' (Released 13 October 1950) – Directed by Soren Sen * '' Aadur Prem'',New Theatres Is Back
2011 – Directed by Somnath Gupta

References

External links

www.kundanlalsaigal.com – Comprehensive Resource Website, offering preview of all his songs.www.pankajmullick.com – Comprehensive Resource Website, offering preview of his songs.www.krishnachandradey.com – Comprehensive Resource Website, offering preview of his songs.www.kanandevi.com
*

A short history
of Bengali cinema
A Biography of B N Sircar

An article on New Theatres by Sharmistha Gooptu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sircar, B. N. 1901 births 1980 deaths Bengali Hindus Bengali film producers Film producers from Kolkata Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients 20th-century Indian businesspeople

Early life

Career

Filmography

See also

References

External links