Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and

Gautam Ghosh Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...

. In addition to being an actress, she is a dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. She was the niece of musician Pandit

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

. Her brother,

Ananda Shankar Ananda Shankar (11 December 1942 – 26 March 1999) was an Indian musician, singer, and composer best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to dancer and choreographer Tanusree Shankar. Life Born in Almora in U ...

, was an Indo-Western fusion musician.

Early life and education

Mamata Shankar was born on 7 January 1955 to the dancers Uday Shankar and

Amala Shankar Amala Shankar (''née'' Nandy, 27 June 1919 – 24 July 2020) was an Indian danseuse. She was the wife of dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar and mother of musician Ananda Shankar and dancer Mamata Shankar (later she became an actress) and ...

. She received her training in dance and choreography at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre, Calcutta under Amala Shankar.

Career

Shankar made her film debut with '' Mrigayaa'' in 1976, directed by Mrinal Sen. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film for the year. Shankar is married, and runs the Udayan - Mamta Shankar Dance Company, which was founded in 1986, and which travels extensively throughout the world, with the 'Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe'. The troupe was founded in 1978, and performed its first production, based on a

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

work, ''Chandalika'', in 1979. It was followed by ''Horikhela'', ''Aajker Ekalabya'', '' Milap'', '' Shikaar'', ''Mother Earth'', ''Amritasyaputra'' and ''

Sabari ''Sabari'' is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Suresh. It stars Vijayakanth as the title character with Jyothirmayi, Malavika and Pradeep Rawat in supporting roles. The film was released on 16 March 2007 to mixed reviews. ...

''.

Personal life

Mamata Shankar has two sons,

Ratul Shankar Ratul Shankar (born Ratul Shankar Ghosh) is a percussionist and actor. Family background Ratul Shankar is the great-grandson of Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, grandson of Uday Shankar, grand nephew of renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar, son of Mamata ...

and Rajeet Shankar.

Awards

* 1992: National Film Award – Special Jury Award (Feature Film):'' Agantuk'' * 1993:

BFJA Award Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

-Best Supporting Actress Award for "Shakha Prashakha" * 2000:

-Best Supporting Actress Award for "Utsab"

Filmography

* '' Mrigayaa'' (''The Royal Hunt'', 1976) * ''

Oka Oori Katha ''Oka Oori Katha'' (English title: The Marginal Ones; Telugu: ఒక ఊరి కథ) is a 1977 Indian Telugu-Language drama film directed by Mrinal Sen. The Pan-Indian film is based on the story ''Kafan'' by Munshi Premchand. The film was one o ...

'' (''The Marginal Ones'' or ''The Outsiders'', (1977) * ''

Dooratwa ''Dooratwa'' ( en, Distance) is a 1981 Bengali film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. It won the National film award for best feature film in Bengali. Plot (P. Mukherjee), marries a young woman, Anjali. When the former rebel learns t ...

'' aka ''Distance'' (1978) * ''

Ek Din Pratidin ''Ek Din Pratidin'' (English title: "And Quiet Rolls the Dawn") is a 1979 Bengali film directed by Mrinal Sen. The film stars Mamata Shankar, Gita Sen and Sreela Majumdar, among others. It was entered into the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Th ...

'' (''And Quiet Rolls the Dawn'' or ''One Day Like Another'' (USA), 1979) * ''

Kharij ''Kharij'', sometimes translated as ''The Case is Closed'', is a 1982 Bengali film by Mrinal Sen under the banner of Neelkanth Films. It is based on a novel by Ramapada Chowdhury. Plot The movie tells the story of a middle-class family whose c ...

'' (''The Case Is Closed'', 1982) * '' Grihajuddha'' (''Crossroads'', 1982) * '' Dakhal'' (''The Occupation'', 1982) * ''

Ganashatru ''Ganashatru'' ( bn, গণশত্রু ''Gônoshotru'' 'Enemy of the People') is a 1990 Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play '' An Enemy of the People'', and was released under that title in t ...

'' (''An Enemy of the People'', 1989) * ''

Shakha Proshakha ''Shakha Proshakha'' ( en, Branches of the Tree, italic=yes) is a 1990 film directed by Satyajit Ray. It deals with four generations of a well-to-do Bengali family, with a focus on the third generation. This film displays an extraordinary use ...

'' (''The Branches of the Tree'' or ''Les Branches de L'arbre'', 1991) * '' Agantuk'' (''The Stranger'' aka ''Le Visiteur'', 1991) * ''Sunya Theke Suru'' (''A Return to Zero'', 1993) * ''

Prajapati Prajapati ( sa, प्रजापति, Prajāpati, lord and protector of creation) is a Vedic deity of Hinduism. In later literature, Prajapati is identified with the creator god Brahma, but the term also connotes many different gods, depe ...

'' (1993) * ''

Sopan Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar. Sopan(19 November 1277 A.D- 29 December 1296 A.D), attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of ...

'' (1994) * '' Dahan'' (''Crossfire'', 1997) * ''

Utsab ''Utsab'' () is a 2000 Bengali-language drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh and stars Madhabi Mukherjee, Mamata Shankar, Rituparna Sengupta, Prasenjit Chatterjee, Pradip Mukherjee, Deepankar De and Arpita Pal. The film focuses on the various ...

'' (''The Festival'', 2000) * ''

The Bong Connection ''The Bong Connection'' is a 2006 Bengali- English language Indian film starring Raima Sen, Shayan Munshi and Parambrata Chatterjee and directed by Anjan Dutt. The movie is based on the lives of Bengalis in the U.S. and Kolkata. Plot The story ...

'', (2006) * ''Samudra Sakshi'', (2006) * '' Ballyganj Court'', (2007) * '' Abohomaan'' (''The Eternal'', 2010) * '' Jaani Dyakha Hawbe'' (2011) * ''

Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona ''Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona'' ( bn, রঞ্জনা আমি আর আসবনা, en, Ranjana, I will not come back again) is a 2011 Bengali language Indian rock musical drama film directed by Anjan Dutt. It won three national film awards ...

'' (2011) * ''

Jaatishwar ''Jaatishwar'' () is a 2014 Indian Bengali musical drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and Swastika Mukherjee. The main focus of the plot revolves around the life and notable works of Anthony F ...

'' (2014) * ''

Agantuker Pore ''Agantuker Pore'' ( bn, আগন্তুকের পরে, lit. "After The Stranger") is a 2016 Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali drama film will be directed by Orko Sinha and produced by Dag Creative Media. The film will be a stand-alone seq ...

'' (2015) * ''

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

'' (2016) * ''

Maacher Jhol ''Maacher Jhol'' is an Indian language Bengali film produced by Sony Pictures Networks and Mojo Productions directed by Pratim D. Gupta, starring Ritwick Chakraborty, Paoli Dam and Mamata Shankar in the lead roles. It is the first Bengali food ...

'' (2017) *'' Flat No 609'' (2018) * '' Shah Jahan Regency'' (2019) * '' Shesher Golpo'' (2019) * '' Antardhaan (2021)'' * ''Bhotbhoti (2022)'' *''Antarleen'' *''Flat No. 609'' *''Bijoyar Pore'' (2022) *''Projapoti'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Mamta Shankar Dance Company, website

Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Mamata Indian film actresses Indian female dancers Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers 1955 births Living people Actresses from Kolkata Actresses in Bengali cinema Gokhale Memorial Girls' College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Dancers from West Bengal 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award