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Tarun Majumdar

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Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema.[1] He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandalok Award. In 1990, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award.[2] He is recognized as one of the greatest influential filmmakers of India. His few movies were restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India, along with his Contemporaries Arabinda Mukhopadhyay, Goutam Ghose.[3] He is Legendary filmmaker for Ganadevata in 1978, Nimantran in 1971,Palatak in 1963.

Tarun Majumdar
Majumder at the Kolkata Book Fair, 2018
Born(1931-01-08)8 January 1931
Bogra, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died4 July 2022(2022-07-04) (aged 91)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
OccupationFilm director
Years active1959–2018
SpouseSandhya Roy
Awards

He alongside Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji made his directorial debut, under the screen name Yatrik, with the 1959 Bengali film Chaowa Pawa starring Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar as the leads.[4]

He received his first National Award for the 1962 Bengali film Kancher Swarga.[5] He also garnered wide critical acclamation for his directorial ventures such as Palatak (1963), Nimantran (1971), Sansar Simante (1975) and Ganadevata (1978).[6] He received a National Award, a BFJA Award and a Filmfare Award for Nimantran (1971). Ganadevata (1979) won him a National Award and a Filmfare Award.

He made blockbusters such as Balika Badhu (1967), Kuheli (1971), Shriman Prithviraj (1973), Fuleswari (1974), Dadar Kirti (1980), Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985) and Apan Amar Apan (1990).[7][8]

His ex-wife Sandhya Roy starred in twenty of his films and Tapas Paul in eight. Moushumi Chatterjee, Mahua Roychoudhury, Ayan Banerjee, Tapas Paul, Abhishek Chatterjee and Nayna Bandyopadhyay were introduced by him to the silver screen.[9] Director/writer Sooraj Barjatya's father Rajkumar Barjatya and Rajkumar Barjatya's Friend was Legendary filmmaker Tarun Majumdar suggested the script of Maine Pyar Kiya.

Early years

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Majumdar was born on 8 January 1931 in Bogra which was then part of Bengal Presidency of British India.[10][11] His father Birendranath Majumdar was a freedom fighter from Munsirhat.[12] He studied intermediate from St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College and did his Graduation at Scottish Church College both affiliated to the University of Calcutta.[13][14][15] He married fellow Bengali actress Sandhya Roy but later they started living separately but never divorced.[11][1] In May 2011, Majumdar resigned from the post of the advisor of Nandan (West Bengal film centre in Kolkata).

Career

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Majumdar start his career as a Poster Illustrator to Film Technician. His early films were credited to Yatrik (phonetically Jatrik in Bengali). Yatrik was the screenname of the trio of directors Tarun Majumdar, Sachin Mukherji, and Dilip Mukherji until 1963 after which each began to be credited separately. As Yatrik, their first venture was Chaowa Paowa (1959) starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen.[16] Yatrik made Kancher Swarga (1962) featuring Dilip Mukherjee in the lead.

In 1965, Majumdar made two films — Ektuku Basa with Soumitra Chatterjee and Alor Pipasa with Basanta Choudhury. Both the films featured Sandhya Roy as the female protagonist. In 1967, he made one of the top-grossing films of the year, Balika Badhu, an adaptation of a Bengali story written by Bimal Kar, in which a teenage Moushumi Chatterjee made her debut. He would remake it in Hindi in 1976, where it was a moderate success. His Shriman Prithviraj became a major box office success.[17]

In 1974, Majumdar directed Fuleswari, starring Sandhya Roy as the titular character. Some of the biggest names in the Bengali music industry of the time (viz. Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukherjee, Aarti Mukherjee and Anup Ghoshal) provided vocals for the film's songs. Years later, Majumdar had acknowledged Fuleswari as his favorite film. In 1975, he directed Sansar Simante, based on a screenplay by Rajen Tarafdar, which was itself adapted from a short story by Premendra Mitra. Soumitra Chatterjee portrayed Aghor, a thief. Years later, Chatterjee had admitted Aghor as one of his best roles.[18] In 1979, Majumdar's film Ganadevata became the first Bengali film to win National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

He cast Mahua Roychoudhury as the female lead in Dadar Kirti (1980) based on a short story by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.[19] He proposed Debashree Roy to play the role of Bini. Roy who was struggling with her career at that time, used to be credited as Rumki Roy in her films. Majumdar did not like the name Rumki. He suggested before Rumki's mother Arati Roy that her name should be altered into Debashree and her mother agreed.[12] Ayan Banerjee was cast in the role Santu, the chirpy lover of Bini. The film marked the debut of Tapas Paul who starred as the protagonist Kedar who falls in love with Saraswati portrayed by Mahua Roychoudhury. The film became a major box office success catapulting Paul to stardom.[20][21] The film won Roychoudhury Filmfare Awards East in 1981.[22]

Majumdar cast Sandhya Roy in four consecutive films — Shahar Theke Dure (1981), Meghmukti (1982), Khelar Putul (1982) and Amar Geeti (1984). The last two films became major debacle at the box office generating the speculation in media that Sandhya Roy was no longer capable to draw mass appeal. He roped Tapas Paul and Debashree Roy in the romantic drama Bhalobasa Bhalobasa. The film gained major box office success.[23] Majumdar cast Paul in another two films, Agaman (1988) and Parashmoni (1988).

Majumdar again cast Paul alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee and Satabdi Roy in Apan Amar Apan (1990). The film was a roaring success at the box office.[24]

In 2003, he made a comeback with Alo, a film based on a story written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. Rituparna Sengupta played the titular role. It received critical and popular acclaim and became one of the hits of the year.[25] As in many of Majumdar's films, the soundtrack featured songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore.[26]

In 2006, he directed Bhalobasar Onek Naam, casting Uttam Kumar's grandson Gourab Chatterjee and Hemanta Mukherjee's granddaughter, and Moushumi Chatterjee's daughter Megha as lead actors.[27] It was not well received by critics or audiences.[28][29]

In 2007, he made another feature film, Chander Bari, based on a joint family saga which got critical acclaim from viewers and was a hit. Rituparna Sengupta again was the main lead. Playback singer Babul Supriyo made his debut in this film opposite Rituparna.[30] The songs featured were again composed by Rabindranath Tagore.[31][32]

His last full-length feature film, Bhalobashar Bari released in 2018.[33][34] Rituparna Sengupta again played the protagonist in the film. It was a major financial debacle.[35][36]

Cinematic sensibility

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Majumdar's movies were popular for their enduring characters and evergreen music. His affinity was on literature and Rabindra Sangeet.[10] Tarun Majumdar explains, "I make films based on literature. I differ with directors who in the name of experimentation make non-narrative cinema. To me a film must draw the audience, as the medium for masses. I believe if the film is not commercially successful, it's not 'good', as the audience always go for good movies."[24] Majumdar depicted rural life with warmth and celebrated their way of living. “Majumdar told stories set in rural India with compassion and sophistication which appealed to audiences across sections" said the maker of Feluda: 50 Years of Ray's Detective."To him, nothing mattered more than the Bengali audience. He was never bothered about international film festivals or national award and The negatives of most of Tarun Majumdar's films are destroyed. Film restoration and preservation is not a profitable work but it is indeed needed. So, I urge the government to help in this matter," Said the national award winner filmmaker Goutam Ghose. "Similar sentiments and appealed of Tapan sinha for the restoration of Majumdar's films. He used to watch my plays and share his feedback. He made films on diverse topics and those should be restored for the future generation," said Actor Manoj Mitra.

 
"Muktamancha" in memory of Tarun Majumdar, installed at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair in Karunamoyee, Salt Lake City, West Bengal, February 2023
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  • An Indian Express which name is Ganadevata Express, this Name of Indian Express is inspiration of Tarun majumdar's movie which Based on noble Prize nominated Tarasankar bandopadhay's Same name novel Ganadevata .
  • Head of The Advisory Board at Nandan (Kolkata).
  • Chif Patron of Mastul Patrika ( মাস্তূল ) 2012- 2018
  • Balika Vadhu TV series in Hindi language and aired on Colors TV.[37] It was between 21 July 2008 and 31 July 2016 with 2,245 episodes.
  • Most popular Tv series komola o sriman prithviraj aired on Star jalsa and directed by Lakhan Ghosh and produced by the Acropoliis Entertainment in 2023

Death

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Majumdar died from a heart attack at a hospital in Kolkata on 4 July 2022 at the age of 91.[11] He suffered from chest infection, kidney and heart ailments prior to his death.[11] Tarun Majumder donated his body for promotion of Medical Education to the Anatomy Department of SSKM Hospital, Kolkata.

Literary works

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  • He wrote the first book Cinemapara Diye Part -1 & 2.
  • Batil Chitranatya
  • Nakshi Kantha
  • Shapla Shaluker Dinguli

Awards

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Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Padma Shri 1990 contribute to Indian Movie Won [2]
National Award 1963 Best Feature Film in Bengali Kancher Swargo Won [5]
1972 Nimantran Won
1979 Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Ganadevata (film) Won [38]
1984 National Film Award for Best Scientific Film Aranya Aamar Won [39]
2004 Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Alo Nominated [40]
BFJA Award 1972 Best Director Nimantran Won [41]
1974 Best Screenplay Banpalashir Padabali Won [41]
1976 Best Director Sansar Simanthey Won [41]
1989 Best Lyricist Parashmoni Won [41]
2004 Most Outstanding Work of the Year Alo Won [41]
2007 Best Indian Films Bhalobasar Onek Naam Won
2017 Lifetime Achievement Won [42]
Filmfare Awards East 1967 Best Film Balika Bandhu Won [43]
1972 Best film Nimantran Won [43]
1976 Best Film Sansar Simante Won [43]
1980 Best Film Ganadevata (film) Won [43]
2021 Lifetime achievement Won [44]
Anandalok Puraskar 2004 Best Film Alo Won
International Film Festival of India 2022 Special Screening Nimantran Nominated
Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival 2018 Special Screening Nimantran Nominated
2018 Special Screening Alo (film) Nominated
Sydney Film Festival 2016 Special Screening Chander Bari Nominated
Kalakar Award lifetime achievement Won [45]

Filmography

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Year Title Cast Note Ref.
Film TV series
1959 Chaowa Pawa Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Tulsi Chakraborty Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji)
1960 Smriti Tuku Thak Suchitra Sen, Asit Baran, Chhabi Biswas
1962 Kancher Swarga Dilip Mukherjee, Anil Chatterjee [46]
1963 Palatak Anup Kumar, Sandhya Roy, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Jahor Roy
1965 Alor Pipasa Pahadi Sanyal, Basanta Choudhury, Sandhya Roy
Ektuku Basa Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, Jahor Roy
1967 Balika Badhu Moushumi Chatterjee
1969 Rahgir Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Shashikala Movie on Hindi Language
1971 Nimantran Sandhya Roy, Anup Kumar, Kali Banerjee, Pahari Sanyal.
1971 Kuheli Biswajit Chatterjee, Debashree Roy, Sandhya Roy, Sumita Sanyal
1973 Shriman Prithviraj Ayan Banerjee, Mahua Roychoudhury, Utpal Dutt, Sandhya Roy
1974 Thagini Sandhya Roy, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Rabi Ghosh, Chinmoy Roy
1974 Fuleswari Sandhya Roy, Samit Bhanja
1974 Jadi Jantem Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Supriya Devi
1975 Sansar Simante Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy
1975 Nagar Darpane Uttam Kumar, Supriya Devi, Haradhan Banerjee Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji)
1976 Balika Badhu Sachin, Rajni Sharma, Kajri, Asrani, A. K. Hangal Movie on Hindi Language
1978 Ganadevata Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Sumitra Mukherjee, Madhabi Mukherjee
1980 Dadar Kirti Tapas Paul, Mahua Roychoudhury, Sandhya Roy, Anup Kumar
1981 Shahar Theke Dure Sandhya Roy, Samit Bhanja, Bhanu Bandopadhyay
1982 Meghmukti Utpal Dutt, Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Debashree Roy
1982 Khelar Putul Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy
1984 Amar Geeti Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Biswajit Chatterjee
1984 Aranya Aamar Documentary Feature film [47]
1985 Bhalobasa Bhalobasa Tapas Paul, Debashree Roy, Utpal Dutt
1986 Pathbhola Prosenjit Chatterjee, Tapas Paul, Abhishek Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy
1988 Agaman Sandhya Roy, Debashree Roy, Tapas Paul
1988 Parasmoni Tapas Paul, Satabdi Roy, Santu Mukhopadhyay
1990 Apan Aamar Apan Tapas Paul, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Satabdi Roy
1991 Path O Prasad Utpal Dutt, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy
1991 Sajani Go Sajani Mahasweta Ray, Utpal Dutt
1994 Katha Chhilo Tapas Paul, Mahasweta Ray
Akuha katha Uttam Mohanty, Aparajita Mohanty Movie on Odia Language
2003 Alo Rituparna Sengupta, Abhishek Chatterjee, Bhaswar Chattopadhyay, Soumili Biswas
2004 Rangamatir poth Goutam Halder Shortfilm
2005 O Amar desher Maati Bhaswar Chatterjee, Ayan Banerjee Shortfilm
2005 Bhalobasar Onek Naam Gourab Chatterjee, Megha Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Moushumi Chatterjee, Tapas Paul
2007 Chander Bari Soham Chakraborty, Koel Mallick, Ranjit Mallick, Rituparna Sengupta
2010 Daak diye jai Paran Bandopadhyay Shortfilm
2014 Durgesh Nandini Paran Bandopadhyay, Tapas Paul, Aatish Bhattacharya TV Series
2018 Bhalobashar Bari Silajit, Rituparna Sengupta, Arjun Chakraborty, Sreela Majumdar
2018 Adhikar Documentary Feature Film [47]
2018 Tobu Mone Rekho Khapang Tripura, Adrija, Aloy Deb Barma Short Film

Recognition

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed grief over the death of Tarun Majumdar. Nimantran has been restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India.[3] Tarun Majumdar was the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 1990. He got the Lifetime Achievement honor, at the West Bengal Film Journalist Association Awards in 2017.[48]

References

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  1. ^ a b Singh, Shiv Sahay (4 July 2022). "Veteran filmmaker Tarun Majumdar passes away at 92". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Digitized and Restored Films List" (PDF). nfai.nfdcindia.com. National Film Archives of India. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. ^ চিরতরুণ. Ei Samay (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "10th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Story is always my top priority: Tarun Majumder". The Indian Express. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Tarun Majumdar". www.upperstall.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  8. ^ Datta, Utpal (1994). Towards a heroic cinema. M.C. Sarkar & Sons. p. 88. ISBN 9788171570508.
  9. ^ "Legendary Bengali filmmaker Tarun Majumdar passes away at 91". www.indulgexpress.com. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b Kamol, Ershad (2 August 2008). "A filmmaker's affinity for literature and Rabindra Sangeet". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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  12. ^ a b তরুণ আলোয়. reader.magzter.com (in Bengali). Anandalok. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Welcome to St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College". www.spcmc.ac.in. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  14. ^ PTI (4 July 2022). "Tarun Majumdar: Uncommon story-teller who depicted the lives of common people on celluloid". National Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Tarun Majumdar: The story-teller who focused on ordinary man's extraordinary characteristics". The Economic Times. 4 July 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  16. ^ সম্পূর্ণ রঙিন উত্তম-সুচিত্রা. Ei Samay (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Valentine's Day special: Ten all-time great romantic movies in Bengali cinema – Ten all-time great romantic movies in Bengali cinema". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
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  19. ^ চল্লিশ বসন্ত পেরিয়েও, 'দাদার কীর্তি' চিরবসন্তের ফাগে রঙিন আজও. TheWall (in Bengali). 28 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  20. ^ তারকা তৈরীর কান্ডারী. reader.magzter.com (in Bengali). Anandalok. 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  21. ^ Chatterji, Shoma A. "Tapas Pal: The Actor, the Politician, the Man". The Citizen. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Queen of Bengali cinema Mahua Roychowdhury death remains a suspense drama". India Today. 15 August 1985. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Tarun Majumdar: সংকটজনক তরুণ মজুমদার, SSKM-এ মুখ্যমন্ত্রী". EI Samay (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  24. ^ a b "In Bangla cinema, content is king and literature is very strong'". The Statesman. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Alo aims for National Award". The Times of India. 3 July 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  26. ^ "Narrative of Tagore's songs used in Tarun Majumdar's Alo (2003)". Silhouette Magazine. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  27. ^ "A sister to her daughter". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  28. ^ "What craft?". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Gourab Chatterjee - Tollywood's most desirable bachelors". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  30. ^ "An actor who sings". Telegraph Calcutta. Calcutta, India. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  31. ^ "'I need to be seen'". Telegraph, Calcutta. Calcutta, India. 3 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  32. ^ "Flashback family". Telegraph Calcutta. Calcutta, India. 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  33. ^ "ভালোবাসার বাড়ি".
  34. ^ "মুভি রিভিউ: ভালবাসার বাড়ি".
  35. ^ "Bhalobasar Bari review: A melodramatic plot with no twist to engage the audience". Archived from the original on 10 January 2023.
  36. ^ "ভালবাসা থাকলেও পোক্ত নয় বাড়ির ভিত".
  37. ^ "Why TV shows like Astitva: Ek Prem Kahani and Balika Vadhu stood out". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  38. ^ "26th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  39. ^ "32nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  40. ^ "Alo aims for National Award". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  41. ^ a b c d e "Tarun Majumdar Awards and Nominations". FilmiClub. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  42. ^ "Tarun Majumdar gets Lifetime Award at WBFJA award function". Business Standard India. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  43. ^ a b c d "The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who". Bennett, Coleman. 26 May 1984. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via Google Books.
  44. ^ "Winners of the Joy Filmfare Awards (Bangla)". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  45. ^ "Kalakar award winners" (PDF). Kalakar website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  46. ^ "Kancher Swarga". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  47. ^ a b "Teller of tales seldom told". Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  48. ^ "Award 2018 - WBFJA: Welcome to the official website of West Bengal Film Journalists' Association". wbfja.com.
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See also

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