Basu Bhattacharya (1934 – 19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''

Teesri Kasam ''Teesri Kasam'' () is a 1966 Hindi, Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Re ...

'', starring

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

and

Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress. Regarded among the most accomplished actresses of Hindi cinema, she has worked in more than Waheeda Rehman filmography, 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her ac ...

(based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" by Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'), which won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

in 1967. The most popular and critically acclaimed film which he directed remains '' Avishkaar'', starring

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

and

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (; born 8 December 1944) also known by her married name Begum Ayesha Sultana, is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali films. Widely recognized as one of the gre ...

, which received five stars in Bollywood Guide ''Collections'' and for which Khanna received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1975. In 1979, he produced '' Sparsh'', which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and the film also won the

Filmfare Best Movie Award The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...

. He served as president of the Indian Film Directors' Association from 1976 to 1979. In 1981 he was a member of the jury at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. None of his works were successful after 1983. He started his career in 1958 by assisting Bimal Roy in films like ''

Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, story and screenplay written by Ritwik Ghatak and dialogues written by Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip ...

'' and '' Sujata'' and later married Bimal Roy's daughter, Rinki Bhattacharya, much to Bimal Roy's disapproval. This created a rift between him and his mentor. The couple had a son, the director Aditya Bhattacharya, and two daughters: Chimmu and Anwesha Arya, a writer. Later after much domestic abuse, his wife Rinki moved out in 1983, and the couple formally divorced in 1990. Rinki went on to edit an anthology on domestic violence in India, titled, ''Behind Closed Doors – Domestic Violence in India'' and became a successful writer, columnist and documentary filmmaker.

Early life

Basu Bhattacharya hailed from an orthodox

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family from a small town, Cossimbazar, in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Filmography

As director

* Uski Kahani (1966) *

(1966) - Won

* Anubhav (1971) - Won National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film * Avishkaar (1973) * Daku (1975) * Tumhara Kalloo (1975) * Sangat (1976) * Known Yet Not Known (1977) * Anand Mahal (1977)(Unreleased) * Madhu Malti (1978) * Griha Pravesh (1979) * Madhuman (1981) * Horký podzim s vuní manga (1984) * Anveshan (1985) (TV) * Solar Energy (1986) * Science India (1986) * Panchavati (1986) * Ek Saas Zindagi (1991) * Aastha: In the Prison of Spring (1997).

Critical Appreciation

Avishkaar was featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Missed

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Basu Film directors from Kolkata Indian male screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Filmfare Awards winners 1934 births 1997 deaths Bengali Hindus University of Calcutta alumni Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award 20th-century Indian screenwriters 20th-century Indian male writers