Kaushik Ganguly (born 4 August 1968) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor in Bengali cinema. Multiple

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

winner Actor-Director, Kaushik Ganguly is known for making films that explore various aspects sexuality, like ''Ushnatar Janye'' (2003), which deals with a lesbian relationship, and ''

Arekti Premer Golpo ''Arekti Premer Golpo'' (; ) is a 2010 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly, written by Kaushik Ganguly. It stars Rituparno Ghosh and Indraneil Sengupta, with Ghosh playing a transgender filmmaker. It is the first film ...

'' (2010), which examines transgender identity & ''

Nagarkirtan ''Nagarkirtan'' is a 2019 Indian Bengali-language film written and directed by Kaushik Ganguly and produced by Sani Ghose Ray. The film stars Riddhi Sen as Parimal, a trans woman from rural Bengal, and Ritwick Chakraborty as Madhu, a flute pla ...

'' (2017), an LGBTQ Movie. In 2019, ''

Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...

'' ranked Ridhi Sen's performance in ''

'' which was directed by Ganguly, among ''100 Greatest Performances of the decade.''

Life

Ganguly was born in

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 ...

on 4 August 1968. His father was guitarist

Sunil Ganguly Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (September 7, 1934 – October 23, 2012) was an Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, and critic. He played a key role in modernizing Bengali poetry and co-founded the 1953 avant-grade poetry ma ...

. He attended

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur is a unit of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, which is a branch of Ramakrishna Mission with headquarters at Belur. It is affiliated to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education ...

and later

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

where he worked on a degree in Bengali literature. While at university, he started a theatre troupe with his future wife actress

Churni Ganguly Churni Ganguly (née Banerjee) is an Indian actress and writer-director who mainly works in Bengali movies and television productions. She won the prestigious Onida Pinnacle Award for Best Actress ational Levelin 1995. Churni received the Ben ...

and

Suman Mukhopadhyay Suman Mukhopadhyay (), or Suman Mukherjee (born 20 November 1966) is an Indian film director.His popular films are Herbert (film), Kangal Malsat, Shesher Kobita (2014). Career Suman Mukhopadhyay's recently completed feature film "Putulnacher ...

(who would later become a film director). In 1987, Ganguly began working as a screenwriter for Tollywood films. He married actress

in January 1993 They have a son actor Ujaan Ganguly In 1995, he moved to ETV Bangla to direct telefilms like Ushnatar Janye, Ulka and Aatithi. These telefilms incorporated elements like lesbianism and sex determination that had not been depicted in Bengali television productions before.

Career

Kaushik made his directorial debut with

Waarish ''Waarish'' () () is a 2004 Bengali film directed by Kaushik Ganguly. It stars Debashree Roy, Mamata Shankar, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Churni Ganguly and Aniket in the leading roles. The film marked Kaushik Ganguly's directorial debut and it was ...

(2004). After his debut, over the years, he has directed more than 15 films and along the way has won several awards. Few of his most notable films include

Laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

, which won the

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

for Best Background Music in 2011, Shabdo (2012), which won the National Award for Best Bengali Film and Chotoder Chobi (2015). His 2017 directorial venture includes Chaya O Chobi, a Bengali drama starring

Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...

Koel Mallick Koel Mallick (; born Rukmini Mallick on 28 April 1982), known mononymously as Koel, is an Indian actress known for her work primarily in Bengali films. Often referred to as the "Tolly-Queen", she is the recipient numerous accolades, including ...

and

Ritwick Chakraborty Ritwick Chakraborty is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. He made his debut with Pagal Premi in 2007. Career Chakraborty was associated with Bengali theatre from a very early age. As he grew older he became passi ...

, an LGBTQ+ movie starring

Riddhi Sen Riddhi Sen is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in Bengali films along with a few Hindi films. He is the youngest actor in India to receive the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film ''Nagarkirtan''. He i ...

and

Filmography

Director

Notable acting roles

Television

* ''Hariharan'' * ''Ulka'' * ''Aatithi'' * ''Shesh Kritya'' * ''Collage'' * ''Chhayachhobi'' * ''Chhadmabeshi (Starring

Rudranil Ghosh Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian actor who works primarily in Bengali films. Education Rudranil Ghosh completed his early education at Santragachi Kedarnath Institution, Howrah under West Bengal State Board. He graduated from the Narasinha Dutt ...

Jisshu Sengupta Jisshu Sengupta (born Biswaroop Sengupta; 15 March 1977) is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter, who predominantly works in Bengali, Hindi and Telugu films alongside a few Kannada films. Sengupta made his debut through a Bengali TV ...

Srabanti Chatterjee Srabanti Chatterjee (born 13 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Bengali films. One of the highest paid and finest actresses of Bengali Cinema, She is known for her versatile acting skills and has been a popular face in Bengali Fi ...

'') * ''Diagnosis'' * ''De-Ray'' * 2003: ''Ghare O Bairey'' * 2003: ''Ushnatar Janye'' * 2010: ''Bandhobi'' * 2010: ''Bagh Nokh''

Screenwriter

* 2005: ''

Shunyo E Buke ''Shunyo E Buke'' (English: Empty canvas) is a 2005 Bengali drama film directed by Kaushik Ganguly. The film deals with the psyche of men and women and their physical relationship. After making '' Waarish'' Ganguly made this second feature film ...

'' * 2009: '' Jackpot'' * 2010: ''

'' * 2011: ''

Rang Milanti ''Rang Milanti'' is a 2011 Bengali comedy film directed by Kaushik Ganguly. Plot There are four boys and one girl. All are very good friends, but the girl wants to choose any one of them as a special friend who can become her life partner late ...

'' * 2012: ''

Awards

Kaushik Ganguly received multiple awards for his role in various films. *2012:

60th National Film Awards The 60th National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2012 in the Indian cinema. The ceremony was held on 3 May 2013 and was host ...

for Best Feature Film in Bengali: '' Shabdo'' *2013:

IFFI Best Director Award The IFFI Award for Best Director (officially known as the Silver Peacock for the Best Director Award) is an honor presented annually at the International Film Festival of India since the 40th IFFI 2009 for the best direction in World cinema ...

for the film "

Apur Panchali ''Apur Panchali'' is a 2013 Bengali film directed by Kaushik Ganguly and produced by Shree Venkatesh Films. It is based on the life of Subir Banerjee, the actor who played Apu in ''Pather Panchali'' (1955), the first film of Satyajit Ray's Apu ...

" at the

44th International Film Festival of India The 44th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 30 November 2013 in Goa.http://pib.nic.in/newsite/feacontent.aspx?relid=100683 Winners *IFFI Best Film Award, Golden Peacock (Best Film): ''Beatriz's War'' by Luigi Acquisto and B ...

*2014: Nominated for Best Director for '' Shabdo'' in ''

Filmfare Awards East Filmfare Awards East were the annual awards segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour the artistic and cinematic excellence in Bengali, Assamese and Odia. The first installment of the awards were held for ...

'' *2014: Winner for Best Film Critic's Choice for '' Shabdo''in ''

'' *2014: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for ''

Kangal Malsat ''Kangal Malsat'' ("War Cry of the Have-Nots") is a 2013 Indian Bengali-language political satire film directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay and based on the novel of the same name written by Nabarun Bhattacharya. , the Central Board of Film Certificat ...

'' in ''

'' *2015:

National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues The National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues was one of the category in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India ...

for Chotoder Chobi *2015:

IFFI ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal The IFFI ICFT UNSESCO Gandhi Medal is an international honor instituted since the 46th International Film Festival of India. The annual award is presented to an outstanding film which promotes peace and inter-cultural dialogue. History In the yea ...

Cinemawala ''Cinemawala'' is a 2016 Indian Bengali language film directed by Kaushik Ganguly, and starring Paran Bandyopadhyay and Parambrata Chatterjee. The theme of the film is tribute to the single screen cinema halls that are rapidly becoming rare in I ...

'' at

46th International Film Festival of India The 46th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 30 November 2015 in Goa. The International Jury was headed by the chairperson, Shekhar Kapur along with UK based director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha ...

*2017:

64th National Film Awards The 64th National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 7 April 2017, and the ...

for Best Feature Film in Bengali: ''

Bishorjan ''Bishorjan'' () is a 2017 Indian Bengali-language film written and directed by Kaushik Ganguly, produced by Opera Productions. It stars Abir Chatterjee, and Jaya Ahsan. The story revolves around a love story between a Bangladeshi Hindu widow a ...

'' *2018: National Film Award - Special Jury Award (feature film) for

*2019: SAARC film festival 2019 in Colombo - Best Feature Film award for

*2021:

67th National Film Awards The 67th National Film Awards were announced at a press meet on 22 March 2021 to honour the best Indian films certified in India between 1 January and 31 December 2019. The awards ceremony, at which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents it ...

for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

for the film ''

Jyeshthoputro ''Jyeshthoputro'' (Elder son) is a 2019 Indian Bengali language film directed by Kaushik Ganguly and features Prosenjit Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty, Sudipta Chakraborty and Gargi Roychowdhury. The original story of the film was conceived by R ...

'' *2021: 4th Filmfare Awards Bangla for Best Director for ''

'' *2024:

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Ka ...

70th National Film Awards The 70th National Film Awards were announced on 16 August 2024 to honour the best films of 2022 in Indian cinema, presented by the National Film Development Corporation of India. The awards ceremony was originally slated to be held on 3 May 202 ...

for '' Kaberi Antardhan''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganguly, Kaushik Bengali film directors Male actors in Bengali cinema Indian male screenwriters Living people 1968 births Kalakar Awards winners Film directors from Kolkata 21st-century Indian screenwriters Male actors from Kolkata Directors who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Ramakrishna Mission schools alumni Jadavpur University alumni Filmfare Awards East winners Filmfare Awards Bangla winners