Biswajit Chatterjee (born 14 December 1936), known mononymously as Biswajit, is an Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...
including ''Mayamrigo'' (1960) and ''Dui Bhai'' (1961), Biswajit relocated to Bombay. In 1962, he performed in the film '' Bees Saal Baad'', which was followed by ''Kohraa'', ''Bin Badal Barsat'', ''Majboor'', ''Kaise Kahoon'' and ''Paisa Ya Pyaar''.
His filmography includes '' Mere Sanam'' (1965), ''
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Asha Parekh
Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...
Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leadin ...
Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...
's debut film ''Anjana Safar'' (1969) (later re-titled ''
Do Shikaari
''Do Shikaari'' (Two Warriors) is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Kuljit Pal. The film stars Vinod Khanna and Rekha. Production for the film, originally named ''Anjana Safar'', started in 1969, but ran into censorship problems.
Cast
*Biswajee ...
''). Though ''Anjana Safar'' was blocked by the censors and not released until 10 years later, a scene from the film which shows him kissing Rekha appeared on the pages of the Asian edition of ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' magazine. Rekha had complained that during filming of one of the romantic scenes, Biswajit unexpectedly kissed her for 5 minutes against her will, and the entire crew started cheering and whistling while she was in tears.
Between acting in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
movies, Biswajit has returned to Calcutta to act in Bengali films, including '' Chowringhee'' (1968) and ''
Garh Nasimpur
Garh is a village in Bedipur Gram panchayat in Bilhaur Tehsil, Kanpur Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the ...
'' with
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar ( bn, উত্তম কুমার; born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), popularly known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian actor, producer, director, script writer, composer, and singer who predom ...
and ''Kuheli'' and much later, ''
Srimaan Prithviraj
''Shriman Prithviraj'' ( bn, শ্রীমান পৃথ্বীরাজ; ) is a 1973 Indian Bengali romantic comedy film starring Ayan Banerjee and Mahua Roy Choudhury, and directed by Tarun Majumdar, featuring teenage love. It has a cult ...
'' (1973), ''Jai Baba Taraknath'' (1977) and '' Amar Geeti '' (1983).
Apart from acting, Biswajeet also sings and performs in concerts. In the 1970s, he cut a disc of two Bengali modern numbers ''Tomar Chokher Kajole'' and ''Jay Jay Din'', both composed by
Salil Choudhury
Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. Th ...
.
Later career
In 1975, Biswajit produced and directed his own film, '' Kahte Hai Mujhko Raja''. The film besides him starred
Dharmendra
Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...
,
Hema Malini
Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...
,
Shatrughan Sinha
Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliame ...
, and
Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...
. He had done one film ''Anjana Safar'' with Rekha previously. R.D. Burman composed the music. Later, he went back to acting. He will make a film on Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's life (in Hindi, English and Bengali) and will act in a new untitled Hindi film (murder mystery) with his younger daughter actress Prima Chatterjee. He has also acted in a Hindi Stage Play, Ulta Seedha, produced directed written by wife Ira Chatterjee. In the play, he acted with his daughter Prima.
Political career
In the 2014 general elections, Biswajit contested from
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
as an
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress ( English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cu ...
candidate. He finished 7th, securing only 909 votes.
In 2019, he joined
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
.
Personal life
Biswajit has a son and a daughter by his first wife, the late Ratna Chatterjee. His son Prosenjit and elder daughter Pallavi Chatterjee are also actors in the Bengali Film Industry. Biswajit lives in Mumbai with his second wife, Ira Chatterjee who is producer, director, writer of stage plays and is owner of Dream Theatre. Their younger daughter, Prima Chatterjee is a film actress, theatre actress and a dance performer.
Filmography
*''Kangsa'' (as Lord Krishna) (1958)
*''Daak Harkaraa'' (1959)
*''Natun Fasal'' (1960)
*''Badhu'' (as the younger brother of Basanta Chaudhuri) (1962)
*'' Maya Mriga'' (1960)
*''Kathin Maya'' (1961)
*''
Dui Bhai
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Majboor'' (1964)
*'' Kohra'' (1964)
*''Kaise Kahoon'' (1964)
*''Godhuli Belaye'' (1964)
*''
April Fool
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may b ...
Hare Kanch Ki Chooriyan
''Hare Kanch Ki Chooriyan'' (Green Glass Bangles) is a 1967 Hindi, social family drama film, produced and directed by Kishore Sahu. The story, screenplay and dialogue were written by Kishore Sahu. Shankar Jaikishan composed the music while the ...
Pyar Ka Sapna
''Pyar ka Sapna'' () is a 1969 Bollywood film starring Ashok Kumar, Mala Sinha, Biswajeet, Helen and others.
The film was produced by T.C. Dewan and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with music by Chitragupta, lyrics and dialogues by Rajendra ...
Ishq Par Zor Nahin
Ishq Par Zor Nahin is a 1970 Hindi romantic movie (based on love triangle story) produced by Suresh Saigal and directed by Ramesh Saigal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sadhana, Biswajeet, Kamini Kaushal, Leela Mishra, Abhi Bhattacharya, Jag ...
Ami Sirajer Begam
''Ami Sirajer Begam'' is a 1973 Indian Bengali historical film directed by Sushil Mukhopadhyay based on a same name novel of '' Sree Parabat
Sree Parabat or Sri Parabat (1 January 1927 – 2 November 2010) was a Bengali language, ...
Phir Kab Milogi
''Phir Kab Milogi'' () is a 1974 Bollywood romance film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The music for the film was composed by R.D. Burman.
Plot
Sapna (Mala Sinha) is having fun meeting her employee Rajesh (Biswajit) as Paro, and then, ...
'' (1974)
*''
Kahte Hain Mujhko Raja
''Kahtey Hain Mujhko Raja'' () is a 1975 Bollywood film directed and produced by Biswajeet. The film stars Biswajeet, Rekha in lead roles, along with Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha in supporting roles. The music was composed by R. D ...
'' (1975) (Also director of the film)
*''
Bajrangbali
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine ''vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one ...
Do Shikaari
''Do Shikaari'' (Two Warriors) is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Kuljit Pal. The film stars Vinod Khanna and Rekha. Production for the film, originally named ''Anjana Safar'', started in 1969, but ran into censorship problems.
Cast
*Biswajee ...
Anand Aur Anand
''Anand Aur Anand'' () is a 1984 Indian film, which is most famous for being the debut movie of both Dev Anand's son, Suneil Anand as well as Natasha Sinha and famous playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya. It stars Dev Anand along with Suneil ...
Zimmedaaar
''Zimmedaaar'' is a 1990 Indian Bollywood film directed and produced by Santosh Kumar Chauhan. It stars Rajiv Kapoor, Anita Raj and Kimi Katkar in pivotal roles. After this movie, Rajiv Kapoor did not feature in any films for over thirty ye ...
'' (1990)
*'' Jigarwala'' (1991)
*'' Kaun Kare Kurbanie'' (1991)
*''Mehboob Mere Mehboob'' (1992)
*'' Kichhhu Sanlap Kichhu Pralap'' (1989)
*''Inth Ka Jawab Patthar'' (2002)
*''Shondhey Namar Agey''
*''Adorini'' (2004)
*''
Aa Dekhen Zara
''Aa Dekhen Zara'' ( en, Come, Let's See) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language science fiction thriller film written by Sheershak Anand , starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, who plays a photo journalist, and Bipasha Basu, as a disc jockey. The film is the ...
'' (guest role as Dada Ji of Neil Nitin Mukesh) (2009)
Lifetime Achievement award at 5th Dehradun International Film Festival
Lifetime may refer to:
* Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey
* ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band
* ...
(DIFF) in 2019
* Guest of Honour
24th Kolkata International Film Festival The 24th Kolkata International Film Festival took place from 10 Nov 2018 – 17 Nov 2018. Celebrating 100 Years of Bengali cinema, Around 171 films and 150 short and documentary films from 70 countries was screened at the festival.
Inauguration ...
(KIFF)
* On 88th birthday of Mohammed Rafi, Chatterjee received
Mohammed Rafi Award
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...