Bengali film industry, which is fondly called 'Tollywood' has enthralled the global audience with its everlasting contribution. Be it actors or directors, Tollywood has gifted some eternal talents over the ages. Through this section, we endeavor to capture some popular personas of Bengali Cinema, who are all time heart throbs of the Bengali film lovers.

Biography

Uttam Kumar (3 September 1926 - 24 July 1980) born as Arun Kumar Chatterjee was born in Kolkata in his ancestral house in Girish Mukherjee Road, Bhowanipore. He is the Mahanayak or the "Great Hero" of Bengali cinema and had been an actor, director and producer.

After his schooling in South Suburban School (Main), Uttam Kumar went for higher studies to Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration, under University of Calcutta. However, he couldn't complete his studies as he started working at the Kolkata Port as a clerk. During this period, he acted for amateur theater groups.

Uttam's first released film was Drishtidan (The gift of sight) directed by Nitin Bose, though he worked in an earlier unreleased film called Mayador (Embrace of affection). He came into prominence in the film Basu Paribar and his breakthrough film was Sare Chuyattor with Suchitra Sen. This romantic comedy launched the career of the greatest romantic duo to grace the Bangla film industry.

A strict workaholic, he was rumored to have said that his preferred demise would be on the floor of a studio, doing what he loved best, acting. That is exactly how he died. While shooting for the film Ogo Bodhu Shundori in 1980, he died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54.

Movies

1948 ---- Dristidan
1949 ---- Kamona
1950 ---- Marjada
1951 ---- Sahajatri
1951 ---- Nastanir
1951 ---- O re Jatri
1952 ---- Sanjeevani
1952 ---- Kaar Paape
1952 ---- Basu Paribar
1953 ---- Saare Chuattor
1953 ---- Lakh Taka
1953 ---- Bou Thakuranir Haat
1953 ---- Nabin Jatra
1954 ---- Maraner Pare
1954 ---- Ora Thake Odhare
1954 ---- Chapadangar Bou
1954 ---- Annapurnar Mandir
1954 ---- Agnipariksha
1954 ---- Maner Mayur
1954 ---- Grihaprabesh
1954 ---- Bakul
1954 ---- Mantrashakti
1954 ---- Kalyani
1955 ---- Raikamal
1955 ---- Saajher Pradip
1955 ---- Debatra
1955 ---- Anupama
1956 ---- Saheb Bibi Golam
1956 ---- Sanakr Narayan Bank
1956 ---- Sagarika
1956 ---- Chirakumar Sabha
1956 ---- Ekti Raat
1956 ---- Shyamali
1956 ---- Lakshaheera
1956 ---- Trijama
1956 ---- Putrabadhu
1956 ---- Shilpi
1956 ---- Nabajanma
1957 ---- Haranu Sur
1957 ---- Prithibi Amare Chay
1957 ---- Baradidi
1957 ---- Surer Parash
1957 ---- Jatra Holo Suru
1957 ---- Tasher Ghar
1957 ---- Punarmilan
1957 ---- Chandranath
1957 ---- Abhayer Biye
1957 ---- Pathe Holo Deri
1957 ---- Harjeet
1957 ---- Jeeban Trishna
1958 ---- Indrani
1958 ---- Bandhu
1958 ---- Joutuk
1958 ---- Shikar
1958 ---- Suryatoran
1958 ---- Rajlakshmi O Srikanta
1958 ---- Manmoyee Girls School
1958 ---- Daktarbabu
1959 ---- Marutirtha Hinglaj
1959 ---- Chaowa Pawoa
1959 ---- Bicharak
1959 ---- Sonar Harin
1959 ---- Pushpadhanu
1959 ---- Gali Theke Rajpath
1959 ---- Khelaghar
1959 ---- Abak Prithibi
1960 ---- Khokababur Pratyabartan
1960 ---- Haat Baralei Bandhu
1960 ---- Mayamriga
1960 ---- Kuhak
1960 ---- Rajasaja
1960 ---- Sakher Chor
1960 ---- Uttar Megh
1960 ---- Saharer Itikatha
1960 ---- Shuno Baranari
1961 ---- Jhinder Bandi
1961 ---- Saptapadi
1961 ---- Dui Bhai
1961 ---- Saathihara
1961 ---- Agnisanskar
1961 ---- Necklace
1962 ---- Bipasha
1962 ---- Kanna
1962 ---- Siulibari
1963 ---- Bhrantibilas
1963 ---- Suryasikha
1963 ---- Deya Neya
1963 ---- Nisithe
1963 ---- Sesh Anka
1963 ---- Uttarayan
1964 ---- Jatugriha
1964 ---- Laal Pathar
1964 ---- Momer Alo
1964 ---- Bibhas
1964 ---- Natun Tirtha
1965 ---- Thana Theke Aaschhi
1965 ---- Raajkanya
1965 ---- Suryatapa
1966 ---- Nayak
1966 ---- Sankhabela
1966 ---- Kaal Tumi Aleya
1966 ---- Shudhu Ekti Bachhar
1966 ---- Rajadrohi
1967 ---- Naayika Sangbad
1967 ---- Chiriakhana
1967 ---- Anthoni Phiringi
1967 ---- Choti Si Mulaqat (Hindi)
1967 ---- Jeeban Mrityu
1968 ---- Teen Adhyay
1968 ---- Chowrangee
1968 ---- Kakhano Megh
1968 ---- Garh Nasimpur
1969 ---- Chirodiner
1969 ---- Sabarmati
1969 ---- Man Niye
1969 ---- Aparichito
1969 ---- Shuksari
1969 ---- Kamallata
1970 ---- Nishipadma
1970 ---- Bilambita Loy
1970 ---- Duti Mon
1970 ---- Rajkumari
1970 ---- Kalankita Nayak
1970 ---- Manjari Apera
1971 ---- Chhadmabesi
1971 ---- Joyjayanti
1971 ---- Ekhane Pinjor
1971 ---- Dhannyi Meye
1971 ---- Jiban Jiggasa
1971 ---- Nabaraag
1972 ---- Memsaheb
1972 ---- Andha Atit
1972 ---- Biraj Bou
1972 ---- Alo Amar Alo
1972 ---- Stree
1972 ---- Haar Mana Haar
1972 ---- Chhinnapatra
1973 ---- Sonar Khacha
1973 ---- Bonpalashir Padabali
1973 ---- Raudrachhaya
1973 ---- Raater Rajanigandha
1973 ---- Kayaheener Kaahini
1974 ---- Amanush (Hindi)
1974 ---- Bikele Bhorer Phul
1974 ---- Raktatilak
1974 ---- Jadi Jantem
1974 ---- Alor Thikana
1974 ---- Jadibangsha
1974 ---- Rodan Bhara Basanta
1975 ---- Agniswar
1975 ---- Mouchak
1975 ---- Kajallata
1975 ---- Ami Se O Sakha
1975 ---- Nagar Darparne
1975 ---- Priyo Bandhabi
1976 ---- Banhisikha
1976 ---- Nidhiram Sardar
1976 ---- Hotel Snow Fox
1976 ---- Sei Chokh
1976 ---- Anandamela
1976 ---- Mombati
1976 ---- Chander Kachhakaachhi
1977 ---- Ananda Ashram
1977 ---- Sannyasi Raja
1977 ---- Sabyasachi
1977 ---- Rajbangsha
1977 ---- Bhola Moyra
1977 ---- Sister
1977 ---- Kitaab (Hindi)
1978 ---- Dui Purush
1978 ---- Bandi
1978 ---- Nishan
1978 ---- Dhanraj Tamang
1979 ---- Debdas
1979 ---- Srikanter Will
1979 ---- Samadhan
1979 ---- Brajabuli
1979 ---- Sunayani
1979 ---- Naba Diganta
1980 ---- Dui Prithibi
1980 ---- Raja Saheb
1980 ---- Pakhhiraj
1980 ---- Darpachurna
1980 ---- Aaro Ekjon
1980 ---- Ogo Badhu Sundari
1980 ---- Khana Barah
1980 ---- Pratishodh
1980 ---- Kalankini Kankabati
1980 ---- Suryasakkhi
1981 ---- Iman Kalyan
Satyajit Ray (2 May, 1921- 23 April 1921), standing 6'-4" tall, was a towering figure in the world of cinema. He was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and letters. He studied at the University in Calcutta and later joined Shantiniketan.

Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing the Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves during a visit to London. He began his career as a commercial artist (1943-56). He founded Calcutta's first film society in 1947 and made his first film, Pather Panchali (1955) while working at an advertising agency. Pather Panchali was an immediate success and won Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival. Pather Panchali with his Aparajito (1956, The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (1959, The World of Apu) are known as 'Apu Trilogy'.

Ray also edited Sandesh, a children's magazine and wrote numerous fiction and nonfiction works. In 1992 he received an honorary Academy Award.

FILMS DIRECTED BY STYAJIT RAY

1950s

The Apu Trilogy- Pather Panchali (1955) * Aparajito (1956) * Apur Sansar (1959)
Other films- Parash Pathar (1958) * Jalsaghar (1958)

1960s

Devi (1960) * Teen Kanya (1961) * Rabindranath Tagore (1961) * Kanchenjungha (1962) * Abhijan (1962) * Mahanagar (1963) * Charulata (1964) * Two (1964) * Kapurush (1965) * Mahapurush (1965) * Nayak (1966) * Chiriyakhana (1967) * Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969)

1970s

Calcutta Trilogy- Pratidwandi (1970) * Seemabaddha (1971) * Jana Aranya (1976)
Feluda series- Sonar Kella (1974) * Joi Baba Felunath (1978)
Other films- Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) * Sikkim (1971) * The Inner Eye (1972) * Ashani Sanket (1973) * Bala (1976) * Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)

1980s

Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980) * Pikoo (1980) * Sadgati (1981) * Ghare Baire (1984) * Sukumar Ray (1987) * Ganashatru (1989)

1990s

Shakha Proshakha (1990) * Agantuk (1991) Suchitra Sen (born April 6, 1931) originally named as Roma Dasgupta is a legendary Bengali actress. In particular, the movies in which she paired opposite, Uttam Kumar, are all-time classics in Bengali cinema. Sen was born in Pabna district of Bangladesh. Her father Karunamoy Dasgupta was the head master of the local school and her mother's name was Indira Dasgupta. She was their fifth child and third daughter. She had formal education in Pabna.

She married Dibanath Sen, son of a wealthy Bengali industrialist, in 1947 and is mother of a noted actress Moon Moon Sen. Sen entered into Bengali films in 1952, after her marriage and then transited to the Bollywood film industry as well. She now lives a life of a recluse rarely making any public appearances.

Sen made her debut in films with an unreleased film Shesh Kothaay in 1952. Following year, she was paired with Uttam Kumar in Sharey Chuattor. The film became a box-office hit and it was remembered for launching Uttam-Suchitra as a leading pair.

She received a Best Actress Award for the film Devdas (1955), which was her first Hindi movie. Her films ran through the 1960s and the 1970s. Her husband died, but she continued to act in films, such as the Hindi hit film Aandhi (1974), which was inspired by India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sen received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.

She refused Satyajit Ray's offer due to date problem, as a result Ray never completed the film Devi Chawdhurani. She also refused Raj Kapoor's offer for a film under RK banner.

She is the first Indian actress to be awarded in an international film festival (Best Actress award for the movie Saat Paake Bandha in 1963 Moscow film festival). Notably, she allegedly refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (the Indian equivalent of a lifetime Oscar) in 2005, preferring to live in seclusion out of the public eye.

She retired from the screen in 1978 after a career of over 25 years to a life of quiet seclusion.

1953 Saat Number Kayedi
1953 Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya
1953 Saare Chuattor
1953 Kajori Niren Lahiri
1954 Sadanander Mela
1954 Agnipariksha Agradoot
1954 Ora Thaake Odhare
1954 Grihaprabesh
1954 Atom Bomb
1954 Dhuli
1954 Maraner Parey
1954 Balaygraas
1954 Annapurnar Mandir
1955 Shapmochan
1955 Sabar Uparey
1955 Snaajhghar
1955 Debdas (Hindi)
1955 Snaajher Pradeep
1955 Mejo Bou
1955 Bhalabaasa
1956 Sagarika
1956 Trijama
1956 Amar Bou
1956 Shilpi
1956 Ekti Raat
1956 Subharaatri
1957 Harano Sur
1957 Pathe Holo Deri
1957 Jeeban Trishna
1957 Chandranath
1957 Musafir (Hindi)
1957 Champakali (Hindi)
1958 Rajlakshmi O Srikanta
1958 SuryaToran
1958 Indrani
1959 Deep Jwele Jaai
1959 Chaaowa Pawoa
1960 Hospital
1960 Smriti Tuku Thaak
1960 Bombai Kaa Babu (Hindi)
1960 Sarhad (Hindi)
1961 Saptapadi
1961 Saathihara
1962 Bipasha
1963 Saat Paake Badha
1963 Uttar Phalguni
1964 Sandhya Deeper Sikha
1966 Mamta (Hindi)
1967 Grihadaha
1969 Kamallata
1970 Megh Kalo
1971 Fariyaad
1971 Nabaraag
1972 Alo Amaar Alo
1972 Haar Maana Haar
1974 Debi Choudhurani
1974 Srabana Sandhya
1975 Priyo Bandhabi
1975 Aandhi (Hindi)
1976 Datta
1978 Pranoy Pashan
Soumitra Chatterjee (born 19 January 1935) is a Bengali actor, prominently known for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray.

Background

Soumitra studied at the Scottish Church College under University of Calcutta and graduated with honours in Bengali literature. He later passed M.A. in Bengali literature from the University of Calcutta. He has lived for a number of years in Calcutta in Satyajit Ray's old apartment.

Soumitra's debuted in 1959 in Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar. As noted on the official website for Ray, "At that time, Soumitra Chatterjee was a radio announcer and had only played a small role in a Bengali stage production". Soumitra eventually collaborated with Ray for 14 films.

Besides working with Ray, Soumitra has worked with other well-known Bengali directors such as Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha. He has also been active in Bengali theatre as an actor, playwright and director. He is a well-known poetry reciter, and has acted on TV and in indigenous folk drama.

Soumitra has received the 'Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts given by the French government, and a lifetime achievement award from Italy. He turned down the honorary Padma Shri award from the Indian government in the seventies; more recently, in 2004, he accepted the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the President of India. He has been the subject of a full-length documentary by French director Catherine Berge. On 9 June 2008, he was selected for the 2007 National Film Award for Best Actor by the Government of India.

1959 Apur Sansar
1960 Devi
1961 Teen Kanya
1962 Abhijan
1964 Charulata
1965 Kapurush
1965 Akash Kusum
1969 Parineeta
1970 Aranyer Din Ratri
1973 Ashani Sanket
1974 Sonar Kella
1978 Joi Baba Felunath
1979 Devdas
1979 Ganadevata
1980 Hirak Rajar Deshe
1984 Ghare Baire Sandip
1987 Sukumar Ray
1988 The Bengali Night
1989 Ganashatru
1990 Shakha Proshakha
2007 Ballygaunj Court
Aparna Sen (Born October 25, 1945 - ) is a critically acclaimed Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.

Sen was born in Calcutta to a Bengali family and her father is the veteran critic and film-maker Chidananda Dasgupta. Her mother Supriya Dasgupta is the cousin of renowned Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. She had her schooling in Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata. She studied her BA, English honors in Presidency College, Calcutta but did not complete the degree.

Magnum photographer, Brian Brake, in 1961 used Sen as the model for what was to become one of his most well known photographs - a shot of a girl holding her face to the first drops of monsoon rain.

Sen made her film debut at the age of 16, when she played the role of Mrinmoyee in the 1961 film Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) directed by Satyajit Ray. Later she worked with Satyajit Ray in several of his films.

In 1965, Sen resumed her film career in Mrinal Sen's Akash Kusum. She acted in a number of Hindi films as well during this time.

In 1969, Sen appeared in The Guru, an English-language feature by Merchant Ivory Productions. She acted in two more films with Merchant-Ivory, Bombay Talkie (1970), and Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978). She also acted with Rajinikanth in 1981 Tamil hit Thee produced by Balaji. The movie was co starred by Sripriya and Suman.

In 1981, Sen made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee Lane. She also wrote its screenplay. The film won positive reviews from critics. For her debut feature, Sen won the Best Director award at the Indian National Film Awards. 36 Chowringhee Lane also won the Grand Prix (the Golden Eagle) at the Manila International Film Festival. She followed up this early success with several other films, notably Paroma (1984), Sati (1989) and Yugant (1995). She also starred in Unishe April (1994), the film by Bengali cinema's Rituparno Ghosh.

Sen's next directorial effort Paromitar Ek Din (2000) was a critical hit and recalled the success of her first film. It won a number of awards on the international festival circuit. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) won a National Film Award for Sen's direction, and an acting award for Konkona Sen Sharma, the director's daughter. The film won more awards at the Locarno, Hawaii and Manila film festivals.

15, Park Avenue (2005), is Sen's latest released venture, starring her daughter and the actors Shabana Azmi, Dhritiman Chaterji, Waheeda Rehman, Rahul Bose and Soumitra Chatterjee. Her next film named The Japanese Wife (2008), stars Raima Sen, Rahul Bose and a Japanese actress. In 2009, Sen announced her first hindi film Gulel , which will star Ranbir Kapoor , Farhan Akhtar , Bipasha Basu , Urmila Matondkar and Konkona Sen Sharma.

In 2008, Sen was elected into the International Jury of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. From 1986 to 2005, Sen was editor of the fortnightly Sananda, a Bengali women's magazine (published by the Ananda Bazar Patrika group). From November 2005 to December 2006, she was associated with the Bengali 24x7 infotainment channel Kolkata TV as Creative Director. In 1986, the then-President of India bestowed the Padma Shri to Sen in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. Since then, she has received several lifetime achievement awards, and served on juries at film festivals around the world.