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Buddhadeb Dasgupta

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For the classical Sarod musician, seeBuddhadev Das Gupta

Buddhadeb Dasgupta
Master Class by the Art of story writing in Cinema-Buddhadeb Das Gupta, Film Maker, at the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2014), in Panaji, Goa on November 27, 2014.jpg
Dasgupta at theIFFI2014
Born(1944-02-11)11 February 1944
Anara,Bengal Presidency,British India
(present-dayPurulia,West Bengal,India)
Died10 June 2021(2021-06-10)(aged 77)
Kolkata,West Bengal,India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Film maker, screenplay writer and author
ChildrenAlokananda Dasgupta

Buddhadeb Dasgupta(11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for hisBengali-language filmslikeBagh Bahadur,Tahader Katha,CharacharandUttara.Five of his films have won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film,Bagh Bahadur(1989),Charachar(1993),Lal Darja(1997),Mondo Meyer Upakhyan(2002) andKaalpurush(2008), whileDooratwa(1978) andTahader Katha(1993) have won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.As a director, he has wonNational Film Award for Best Directiontwice, forUttara(2000) andSwapner Din(2005). Over the years he has published several works of poetry includingGovir Araley,Coffin Kimba Suitcase,Himjog,Chhaata Kahini,Roboter Gaan,Sreshtha Kabita,andBhomboler Ascharya Kahini O Ananya Kabita.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Buddhadeb Dasgupta was born in a Vaidya family in 1944 inAnaranearPuruliyain SouthernWest Bengal,[2]and was the third of nine siblings. His father Tarkanta Dasgupta was a doctor with theIndian Railways,thus he spent the early part of childhood traveling. At the age of twelve, he was sent to Calcutta to study, earlier atShibpur SSPS Vidyalayaand later at Dinabandhu School,Howrah.[3]Post-independence his father was transferred first toKharagpurinWest Midnapore districtandManendragarh(now inChhattisgarh).[4]

He studied economics at theScottish Church Collegeand theUniversity of Calcutta.[5][6]

Career[edit]

Buddhadeb started his career as a lecturer of Economics, at theShyamsundar Collegeof theUniversity of Burdwanfollowed byCity College, Calcutta.In 1976, when disenchanted by the gap he perceived between the economic theory he taught and the socio-political reality, he took to film making.[1]Meanwhile, his membership with theCalcutta Film Society,where he started going in his senior high school along with his uncle, exposed him to the works of directors likeCharlie Chaplin,Ingmar Bergman,Akira Kurosawa,Vittorio De Sica,Roberto Rossellini,andMichelangelo Antonioni.This, in turn, inspired him to take film making as a mode of expression.[7]He started his film career with a 10-minute documentary in 1968,The Continent of Love;eventually he made his first full-length feature film,Dooratwa(Distance) in 1978.[8]

His lyricism has been extended to cinema as well. During the early stages of his film career, Dasgupta made films inspired bySatyajit Ray's realistic films and later moved on to other forms. Some of his most acclaimed films areBagh Bahadur,Tahader Katha,CharacharandUttara.[9]

Filmography[edit]

Feature films[edit]

Documentary and TV work[edit]

  • The Continent of Love(1968)
  • Dholer Raja Khirode Natta(1973)
  • Fishermen of Sundarban(1974)
  • Saratchandra(1975)
  • Rhythm of Steel(1981)
  • Indian Science Marches Ahead(1984)
  • Vigyan O Tar Avishkar(1980)
  • Story of Glass(1985)
  • India on the Move(1985)
  • Ceramics(1986)
  • Aranyak(1996)
  • Contemporary Indian Sculpture(1987)
  • History of Indian Jute(1990)

Awards[edit]

Dasgupta (second from right) inaugurating 8thMumbai International Film Festival,at the P.L. Deshpande Auditorium in Mumbai on 3 February 2004

Family[edit]

His youngest daughter,Alokananda Dasgupta,a trained classical pianist, composed the background score for his 2013 film,Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa.

Death[edit]

He died at the age of 77 on 10 June 2021.[15][16]

Further reading[edit]

  • Buddhadeb Dasgupta: cinema of imprinted times,by Pradip Biswas. Aurora Film Corp., 1999
  • Films of Buddhadeb Dasgupta,by John W. Hood. Orient Blackswan, 2005.ISBN81-250-2802-1.
  • Sen, Rahul. "Buddhadeb Dasgupta:Transformer ofDreamsandImagination"(inBengali).Jolghori3. 1-2 (Dec. 2020-Mar. 2021, and Apr.-Jul. 2021): 214-29.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcMerchant of Dreams: Buddhadeb Dasgupta gets lifetime achievement award at the Spain International Film FestivalThe Tribune,31 May 2008.
  2. ^Buddhadeb Dasgupta ProfileArchived7 December 2007 at theWayback Machineat Calcuttaweb.com.
  3. ^Hood, p. 2
  4. ^Hood, p. 3
  5. ^Some Alumni of Scottish Church Collegein175th Year Commemoration Volume.Scottish Church College, April 2008, p. 588.
  6. ^Aami, Tumi, O Scottish(translated from Bengali: "Me, You, and Scottish" ) in175th Year Commemoration Volume.Scottish Church College, April 2008, p. 430-1.
  7. ^Hood, p. 14
  8. ^Syed, M.H. (2005).Encyclopaedia of Modern Journalism and Mass Media.Anmol Publications. p. 210.ISBN81-261-2420-2.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^Buddhadeb DasguptaArchived1 December 2010 at theWayback MachineUpperstall.com.
  10. ^FilmographyThe New York Times.
  11. ^"Sniffer (Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa)".The Guardian.Retrieved5 January2016.
  12. ^"46th National Film Awards"(PDF).Directorate of Film Festivals.
  13. ^"Berlinale: 1988 Programme".berlinale.de.Retrieved6 March2011.
  14. ^"Berlinale: 1994 Programme".berlinale.de.Retrieved11 June2011.
  15. ^"Buddhadeb's 'Bag Bahadur' Pavan Malhotra pays a tribute to 5-time National Film Award winning auteur".connectedtoindia.com.Archived fromthe originalon 10 June 2021.Retrieved10 June2021.
  16. ^"Buddhadeb Dasgupta, National Award-winning Bengali filmmaker, passes away aged 77 after prolonged kidney ailment".Firstpost.10 June 2021.Retrieved11 June2021.

External links[edit]

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