Biswajeet Chatterjee (born 14 December 1936), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

as Biswajeet, is a veteran Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in Bengali cinema and

Hindi cinema 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 "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

Early career

He made his acting debut in the Bengali films with the legendary icon Mahanayak Uttam Kumar in '' Mayamrigo'' (1960) and ''Dui Bhai'' (1961), both superhits, then he relocated to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. In 1962, he performed in the film '' Bees Saal Baad'' which was actually offered first to Uttam Kumar but he rejected and was the first film produced by

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemanta Mukherjee and Hemant Kumar, was an Indian music director and a playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, along with several other India ...

, and then followed by '' Kohraa'', '' Bin Badal Barsat'', '' Majboor'', ''Kaise Kahoon,'' and '' Paisa Ya Pyaar''. His filmography includes ''

Mere Sanam ''Mere Sanam'' (English: ''My Lover)'' is a 1965 Hindi film starring Biswajeet, Asha Parekh, Mumtaz, Pran and Rajendra Nath. The film was a hit at the box office, especially because of the musical score by Majrooh Sultanpuri, O. P. Nayyar ...

'' (1965), ''

Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe 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. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is sim ...

'', ''

Aasra AASRA (stylized as: आसRa) is a Mumbai-based mental health not-for-profit organization known for operating a 24-hour helpline for individuals who are suicidal and emotionally distressed. The service is an offshoot of Befrienders Worldwide ...

'' (1964), ''

Night in London Night in London is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Brij. It stars Biswajeet, Mala Sinha, Johnny Walker, Helen in pivotal roles. The music was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Plot A woman named Renu (Mala Sinha) is forced to lea ...

'', '' Yeh Raat Phir Naa Aaygi'' (1966), ''

April Fool April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...

'' (1964), '' Kismat'' (1968), ''

Do Kaliyan ''Do Kaliyaan'' ( ) is a 1968 Indian Hindi-language film directed by R. Krishnan and S. Panju. The film stars Mala Sinha, Biswajeet, Mehmood, Om Prakash and Neetu Singh, credited as Baby Sonia. It is a remake of the 1965 Tamil film '' Kuzhanda ...

'' (1968), ''

Ishq Par Zor Nahin Ishq Par Zor Nahin is a 1970 Hindi romantic film produced by Suresh Saigal and directed by Ramesh Saigal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sadhana, Biswajeet, Kamini Kaushal, Leela Mishra, Abhi Bhattacharya, Jagdeep, Nadira and Helen. The film's ...

'' and ''Sharaarat'' (1972). He was usually paired with notable actresses such as

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is an Indian actress, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema, Parekh has worked in more than 85 films, in a career spanning over four d ...

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 ...

, Mumtaz,

Mala Sinha Mala Sinha (born Alda Sinha; 11 November 1936) is a former Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi, Bengali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading actress in Hindi Cinema in the 1960s a ...

and

Rajshree Rajashree Shantaram (born 8 October 1944), known mononymously as Rajshree, is an Indian actress. She is best known for her work in the movies '' Janwar'' and '' Brahmachari''. Personal life Rajshree is the daughter of acclaimed Indian filmmak ...

. Biswajit appeared in

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous 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 mo ...

's debut film ''Anjana Safar'' (1969) (later re-titled '' Do Shikaari''). 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, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine. Rekha had complained that during the 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, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movies, Biswajit has returned to Calcutta to act in Bengali films, including ''

Chowringhee Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbo ...

'' (1968) and ''Garh Nasimpur'' with

Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as Mahanayak (), was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema ...

and ''Kuheli'' and much later, '' Srimaan Prithviraj'' (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. This inc ...

Later career

In 1975, Biswajit produced and directed his own film, '' Kahte Hai Mujhko Raja''. The film besides him starred

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 15 July 1946) 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 Parliament ...

, and

. He had done one film ''Anjana Safar'' with Rekha previously.

R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman ...

composed the music. Later, he went back to acting. He will make a film on

Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan left a le ...

'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 (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

as an

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...

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. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

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 Pallavi Chatterjee (born 30 October 1965) is an Indian actress and producer who is known for her works in Bengali Film Industry. She is best known for her role as Brinda in Rituparno Ghosh's ''Dosar'' (2006). She is the recipient of Kalakar Awar ...

are also actors in the

Bengali Film Industry Cinema of West Bengal, also known as Tollywood or Bengali cinema, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Bengali language widely spoken in the state of West Bengal. It is based in the Tollygun ...

. 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 daughter, Prima Chatterjee is a film actress, theatre actress and a dance performer.

Filmography

Director

Producer

Awards and honors

* Filmfare Awards Bangla 2025 – Lifetime Achievement Award * Indian Personality of the year at 51st

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

(IFFI) * Lifetime Achievement award at 5th Dehradun International Film Festival (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. Inaugurati ...

(KIFF) * On 88th birthday of Mohammed Rafi, Chatterjee received Mohammed Rafi Award in Mumbai. * In 1963, Biswajit received President Gold Medal for film '' Dada Thakur'' from President

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 188817 April 1975; natively Radhakrishna) was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of ...

References

Biswajit:44 Saal Baad - Devinder Bir Kaur's interview for The Tribune, Chandigarh

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Biswajit Male actors from Kolkata Bengali male actors Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema Living people Male actors from Mumbai Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election 1936 births Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal 20th-century Indian male actors