Pulak Bandyopadhyay (; 2 May 1931 – 7 September 1999) was a
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n lyricist and songwriter of
Bengali cinema.
Early life
He was born and brought up in
Salkia
Salkia is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Salkia is under the jurisdiction of Golabari Police Station and Malipanchghara Police Station of Howrah Police Commission ...
,
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
. His family had close links with art circles, in particular in drama, literature, and music. He was a graduate of the
Scottish Church College
Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. ...
, in
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
.
[
]
Career
He experimented with various genres and in the process contributed richly to the evolution of musical compositions in Bengali cinema during the 1960s and 1970s.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 ...
artistes like Akhilbandhu Ghosh, Hemanta Mukherjee
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 ...
, Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...
, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay
Manabendra Mukhopadhyay was an Indian singer and music composer in Bengali films. Coming to limelight in the early 1950s Manabendra was an innovative and stylish singer who had a strong foundation in Indian classical music. With his distincti ...
, Geeta Dutt
Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian Indian classical music, classical and playback singer. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema (India) ...
, Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...
, Asha Bhonsle
Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...
, Haimanti Shukla, Shyamal Mitra
Shyamal Mitra (14 January 1929 – 15 November 1987) was an Indian versatile playback singer and music director along with Hemanta Mukherjee and Manna Dey. Mitra worked in many Hindi and Bengali films as a music director and film producer. He w ...
, Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika (; 8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011), widely known as Sudha Kontho, was an Indian singer, songwriter, writer, filmmaker and politician from Assam. He has written songs mainly in the Assamese language, which are marked by h ...
, Pratima Bandopadhyay
Pratima Bandopadhyay (; 21 December 1934 – 29 July 2004; born as Pratima Chatterjee aka Pratima Chattopadhyay) was a Bengali language, Bengali playback singer from Kolkata, who sang numerous songs in popular Bengali language movies and non-fil ...
, Utpala Sen, Arundhati Holme Chowdhury, Satinath Mukherjee, Madhuri Chattopadhyay, Anup Ghoshal
Anup Ghoshal (1944/1945 – 15 December 2023) was an Indian playback singer and composer in Hindi and other vernacular Indian films, especially Bengali-language. He was known in his native Bengal primarily as one of the foremost artists of the ...
and Arati Mukherjee sang his compositions.[Pulak Bandyopadhyay on Bhupen Hazarika]
/ref> In 1966 film Sankhabela, he wrote two evergreen songs- "Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechhi" (Lata Mageshkar and Manna Dey) and "Aaj Mon Cheyechhe" (Lata Mangeshkar). In 1969 film Prothom Kadam Phool, he wrote " Ami Shri Shri Bhojo Hori Manna". In 1973 film Basanta Bilap
''Basanta Bilap'' is a 1973 Indian Bengali language romantic comedy film directed by Dinen Gupta, based on a story by Bimal Kar.
Plot
The story revolves around a group of girls (4 of them are focussed on mainly), all boarders of a working ladi ...
, he wrote "O Shyam Jokhon Tokhon, Khelo Na Khela Emon".
Death
On 7 September 1999, he committed suicide by jumping off a launch into the Hooghly river.[
]
Notable songs
* "Ke Jaane Ka Ghanta"
* "Bristi Bristi Bristi"
* "Tomar Daake Sara dite"
* "Ja Re Ja Ure Rajar Kumar"
* "Jani Na Kakhon Tumi"
* "Jakhon Keu Amake Pagol Bole"
* "Ami Agantuk"
* "Ami Gaan Shonabo Ekti Asha"
* "Ke Prothom Kache Esechi"
* "Jato Bhabna Chilo"
* "Khopar Oi Golap Diye"
* "Ei Chhanda E Ananda"
* "Amar Bhalobasar Rajprasade"
* "Tumi Shatodal Hoye Phute"
* "Tapur Tupur Bristi Jhore"
* "Phuleshwari"
* "Jeo Na Darao Bondhu"
*''Doore doore kachhe kachhe''
*''Ami sri sri Bhojohori Manna''
*''Agoon legechhe''
*''Dau dau dau jole duranto bonh''i
*''Lajboti nupurer rini jhini jhini''
*''Kotodin pore ele, ektu bosho''
*''Shedin tomay dekhechhilam''
*''Ogo kajol noyona horini''
*''Shei to abar kachhe ele''
*''O Lolita, oke aaj chole jete bolna''
*''Jani tomar premer jogyo ami to noi''
*''Abar hobe to dekha''
*''Dorodi go''
*''Kothay kothai je raat hoye jai''
*''Amar bolar kichhu chhilona''
*''Aaj mon cheyechhe''
*''Dweep jwele oi tara''
*''Ami tomar kachhei phire ashbo''
*''Sobuj Pahar dake''
*''Esho pran bhorono doinyo horono he''
*''Tomay keno laagchhe eto chena''
*''Meghla bhanga rod uthechhe''
*''Tomar du chokhe amar swapno aanka''
*''Boro saadh jaage ekbar tomai dekhi''
*''Tumi onek jotno kore amay dukkho dite cheyechho''
* " Basrai Golap Haate Dilam"
* " Tomar Bhubane Phuler Mela Ami Kadi Sharaye"
* " Ekta Chithi dilam likhe"
References
External links
*
Pulak BandyopadhyayPulak Bandyopadhyay remembers Geeta Dutt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandyopadhyay, Pulak
Indian male singer-songwriters
Indian singer-songwriters
Singers from Kolkata
Bengali singers
Scottish Church College alumni
1931 births
1999 deaths
20th-century Indian poets
20th-century Indian singers
20th-century Indian male writers
20th-century Indian male singers
Suicides by drowning
Suicides in India
Deaths by drowning in India