Chapal Bhaduri is the last living female impersonator in

Bengali theatre Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people. Be ...

and perhaps even in

Indian theatre Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defin ...

. He did female impersonation in Jatra, a form of Bengali folk theatre as ''Chapalrani''. In 2010, he starred in a

Bengali Film Bengali cinema may refer to: * Cinema of West Bengal, also called Tollywood * Cinema of Bangladesh The Cinema of Bangladesh, locally known as Bangla cinema, is a diverse and vibrant entity, consisting of films produced across various regions ...

'' Arekti Premer Golpo'' which was directed by

Kaushik Ganguly Kaushik Ganguly (born 4 August 1968) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. Multiple National Film Awards winner Actor-Director, Kaushik Ganguly is known for making films that explore vario ...

and written by Ganguly and

Rituparno Ghosh Rituparno Ghosh (; 31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for h ...

Early life

He was born at

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

's Kali Dutta lane, as the youngest child of Tara Kumar Bhaduri, a theatre actor and Prava Devi, a theatre and film actress. Later in 1939, his family moved to Badamtala Lane of Goabagan area of

. He had three brothers and two sisters. Noted actor and singer, Ketaki Dutta is Bhaduri's youngest sister. With the backing of her mother, his acting career started at the age of only seven at ''Srirangam Theatre'' ow known as ''Biswarupa'' located at Northern Kolkatawhere he played the role of ''Apurba'' in

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicised as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and socie ...

's ''Bindur Chele''. Later in 1955, he performed in Bengali Theatre named ''Ali Baba'' where he played the female character of ''Marjina''.

Acting career

Theatre

His voice is very thin and soft and has a distinctly female tenor. After performing a female character in ''Ali Baba'' he was flooded with the female role in theatre. His performances in ''Raja Debidas'', ''Chand Bibi'', ''Sultana Razia'' and ''Mahiyashi Kaikeyi'' were big hits at that time and he became the leading lady of Bengal's jatra in the name of Chapalrani or Queen-Chapal. In the 1960s he was the highest paid 'actress' of

Bengali Theatre Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people. Be ...

. Chapal Bhaduri joined ''Natto Company'' in 1958. In the late sixties when women started to act in the theatre he found himself at a wrong end to cope up with the modern trend and he had to quit. In this time he worked with ''Kamala Production''. Later he started to play Goddess ''Ma Shitala''. His role in the semi-autobiographical ''Ramanimohan'', a play produced in 2006, was his first full-length role as a male character,

Film

He was seen in tele-film ''Ushnotar Jonne'' and the film '' Arekti Premer Golpo''. Both of these were directed by

Depictions in popular culture

Chapal Bhaduri revived into fame after Naveen Kishore of the Seagull Foundation for the Arts had made a 44-minute documentary on the actor in 1999. Performing the Goddess — The Chapal Bhaduri Story focuses light on the man, who challenged financial penury to create a new performance — a monologue of Goddess Shitala. A tele-film ''Ushnotar Jonne'', directed by

also depicts part of his life. In this telefilm he made a cameo appearance. The third one is '' Arekti Premer Golpo'', a feature film directed by

in which he narrates his life on camera. Presently Bhaduri lives in a Old age home in

North Kolkata North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighborhoods. Notable areas within North Kolkata include Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Manikta ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhaduri, Chapal 1938 births Living people Male actors from Kolkata Bengali theatre personalities Indian male stage actors 20th-century Indian male actors