Manoj Mitra

Manoj Mitra
Manoj Mitra - Kolkata 2013-12-05 4745.JPG
Manoj Mitra on 22 December 2013, Kolkata
Born1938
NationalityIndian
OccupationVeteran Actor

Manoj Mitra (born 1938) is an Indian theatre, film and television actor, director and playwright.[1]

Early life

Mitra was born on 22 December 1938 in Dhulihar village of Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. Initially he used to study at home because his father Ashok Kumar Mitra, who had a transferable job. Mitra was attracted to the jatras and plays that used to be held in their courtyard during the Durga Pujas but was forbidden by senior family members to participate in any way. His school life began after the Partition at a school(Dandirhat N.K.U.S.Niketan) near Basirhaat. Later he joined the Scottish Church College with honours in philosophy and graduated in 1958.[2] He used to write short stories and many of them appeared in various magazines. It was at Scottish Church that he got initiated to theatre. There were regular shows at the college where the likes of Badal Sarkar, Rudraprasad Sengupta and others were students.[3] He did his MA in Philosophy from the University of Calcutta and began research for a doctorate. But by then he and friends like theatre and film director Partha Pratim Chowdhury had begun the group Sundaram.[1] He began by teaching philosophy in the Suri Vidyasagar College (only one day) and later joined the drama department at the Rabindra Bharati University, where he became the head of department and retired as Sisirkumar Bhaduri professor of RBU. But by then he was a leading playwright of Bengal. He was writing, directing and acting in plays. His first play Mrityur Chokhe Jal won him first prize at the statewide competition. He has till date written over a hundred plays like Mrityur Chokhe Jal, Sajano Bagaan, Parabas, Alokanandar Putra Kanya, Narak Guljar, Aswathama, Chakbhanga Madhu, Mesh O Rakhash, Noisho Bhoj, Chhayar Prashad,Galpo Hekim Saheb,Rajdarshan, Debi Swarpamasta, Munni O Saat Chowkidar,Ranger haat, Ja Nei Bharatey.While most of these plays were produced by Sundaram, major theatre groups have produced his works like Theatre Workshop, Bohurupee etc. His works have been translated into many languages and produced by directors like Ratan Thiyam, Rajendar Nath and others. His latest play Aschourjo Funtosee is now being produced by Sundaram in Kolkata, India. He has written several books on film and theatre.

At present he is the President of the Paschim Banga Natya Akademi and president of Sundaram.

Awards and honours

  • Sangeet Natak Akademy Award for Best Playwright (1985)
  • Calcutta University Award for Best Playwright (1986)
  • West Bengal State Government Award for Best Playwright (1983 & 1989)
  • Asiatic Society’s Gold Medal (2005)
  • Filmfare Award for Best Actor (1980)
  • Munir Chowdhury Award from Bangladesh Theatre Society (2011)
  • Dinabandhu Puraskar (25 May 2012)
  • Kalakar Awards[4]

Career in cinema

Mitra has acted in films by a diverse variety of directors such as Tapan Sinha, Satyajit Ray, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Basu Chatterjee, Tarun Majumdar, Shakti Samanta and Goutam Ghose.

He is best known for the lead role in Tapan Sinha’s film Banchharamer Bagaan, which was based on Mitra's play Sajano Bagaan (The Arranged Garden).[5] and his roles in Satyajit Ray's Ghare Baire and Ganashatru.

References

  1. ^ a b "At play with a pack of cards". The Telegraph. India. 3 August 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  2. ^ Some Alumni of Scottish Church College in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008, p. 589
  3. ^ Interview with Manoj Mitra in Scottish Church College Magazine, 2001, volume 89. page 42
  4. ^ "Kalakar award winners" (PDF). Kalakar website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  5. ^ The Films of Tapan Sinha

External links


This page was last updated at 2019-11-15 03:16 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari