Tarun Majumdar

Padma Shri
Tarun Majumdar
Majumdar 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
Alma mater
OccupationFilm director
Years active1959–2018
SpouseSandhya Roy
Awards

Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator, and screenwriter known for his work in Bengali cinema.[1] He received five National Film Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards, and one Anandalok Award. In 1990, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in the country.[2] The National Film Archive of India has restored and digitized several of his works, including Nimantran (1971),[3][4] [5] for which he received a National Award, a BFJA Award and a Filmfare Award. Ganadevata (1978) earned him a National Award and a Filmfare Award.

His commercially successful films include Balika Badhu (1967), Kuheli (1971), Shriman Prithviraj (1973), Fuleswari (1974), Dadar Kirti (1980), Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985), and Apan Amar Apan (1990).[6][7]

Early years

Majumdar was born on 8 January 1931 in Bogra, which was then part of the Bengal Presidency of British India.[8][9] His father, Birendranath Majumdar, was a freedom fighter from Munsirhat.[10] He studied intermediate from St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College and had his graduation at Scottish Church College, both affiliated with the University of Calcutta.[11][12][13]

Career

Majumdar started his career as a poster illustrator and film technician. His early films were credited to Yatrik (phonetically Jatrik in Bengali), the screen name 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.[14] Yatrik made Kancher Swarga (1962) featuring Dilip Mukherjee as the lead.

In 1965, Majumdar made two films, Ektuku Basa with Soumitra Chatterjee and Alor Pipasa with Basanta Choudhury. Both films featured Sandhya Roy as the female protagonist. In 1967, he directed Balika Badhu, an adaptation of a Bengali story written by Bimal Kar, in which a teenage Moushumi Chatterjee made her debut. Majumdar later remade the film Hindi in 1976. He also directed Shriman Prithviraj (1973).[15]

In 1974, Majumdar directed Fuleswari, starring Sandhya Roy as the titular character. Many Bengali artists like Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukherjee, Aarti Mukherjee, and Anup Ghoshal provided vocals for the film's songs. Years later, Majumdar 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. In 1979, Majumdar's film Ganadevata became the first Bengali film to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.[16] The film was based on the novel of the same name, written by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay.

Mahua Roychoudhury was cast as the female lead in Dadar Kirti (1980), a film based on a short story by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.[17] The film marked the debut of Tapas Paul, who starred as the protagonist Kedar, who falls in love with Saraswati, portrayed by Mahua Roychoudhury.[18][19] The film won the Roychoudhury Filmfare Awards East in 1981.[20]

Majumdar went on to cast Sandhya Roy in four consecutive films: Shahar Theke Dure (1981), Meghmukti (1982), Khelar Putul (1982), and Amar Geeti (1984). These two films had lower box office returns compared to his previous works, leading to contemporary media discussion regarding Roy's commercial impact at the time. He then cast Tapas Paul and Debashree Roy in the romantic drama Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985), which achieved box office success.[21] Majumdar cast Paul in another three films, Agaman (1988), Parashmoni (1988), and Apan Amar Apan (1990) alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee and Satabdi Roy, which again achieved box office success.[22]

In 2003, he returned to directing with Alo, a film based on a story written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. Rituparna Sengupta played the titular role. Consistent with Majumdar's established style, the soundtrack incorporated Rabindra Sangeet.[23]

In 2006, he directed Bhalobasar Onek Naam, casting Uttam Kumar's grandson Gourab Chatterjee, Hemanta Mukherjee's granddaughter, and Moushumi Chatterjee's daughter Megha as lead actors.[24][25][26]

In 2007, he made another feature film, Chander Bari. Rituparna Sengupta again was the main lead. Playback singer Babul Supriyo made his debut in this film opposite Rituparna.[27] The songs featured were again composed by Rabindranath Tagore.[28][29]

His last full-length feature film, Bhalobashar Bari, was released in 2018.[30][31] Rituparna Sengupta again played the protagonist in the film.[32][33]

Majumdar's films frequently adapted classical literature and followed a narrative-driven structure, a style that differed from the experimental approaches of some of his contemporaries. He stated in interviews that a film's commercial performance served as an indicator of its quality.

Personal Life

Majumdar was married to actress Sandhya Roy. While the couple later lived separately, they remained legally married until his death.[1][9]

"Muktamancha" in memory of Tarun Majumdar, installed at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair in Karunamoyee, Salt Lake City, West Bengal, February 2023

Death

On 4 July 2022, at the age of 91, Majumdar died from a heart attack at a hospital in Kolkata.[9] He suffered from a chest infection, and kidney and heart ailments prior to his death.[9] Majumdar donated his body for promotion of medical education to the Anatomy Department of IPGMER and SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.

Literary works

  • Cinemapara Diye, Part 1 & 2
  • Batil Chitranatya
  • Nakshi Kantha
  • Shapla Shaluker Dinguli
  • Gharer Baire Ghar

Awards

Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Padma Shri 1990 Contribution to Indian cinema Won [2]
National Award 1963 Best Feature Film in Bengali Kancher Swargo Won [4]
1972 Nimantran Won
1979 Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Ganadevata Won [34]
1984 National Film Award for Best Scientific Film Aranya Aamar Won [35]
2004 Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Alo Nominated [36]
BFJA Award 1972 Best Director Nimantran Won [37]
1974 Best Screenplay Banpalashir Padabali Won [37]
1976 Best Director Sansar Simanthey Won [37]
1989 Best Lyricist Parashmoni Won [37]
2004 Most Outstanding Work of the Year Alo Won [37]
2007 Best Indian Films Bhalobasar Onek Naam Won
2017 Lifetime Achievement Won [38]
Filmfare Awards East 1967 Best Film Balika Bandhu Won [39]
1972 Best Film Nimantran Won [39]
1976 Best Film Sansar Simante Won [39]
1980 Best Film Ganadevata Won [39]
2021 Lifetime Achievement Won [40]
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 Nominated
Sydney Film Festival 2016 Special Screening Chander Bari Nominated
Kalakar Award 2018 Lifetime Achievement Won [41]

Filmography

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 [42]
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, Partho Mukherjee
1969 Rahgir Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Shashikala Movie in Hindi
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, Anup Kumar
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 in Hindi
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 [43]
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 in Odia
2003 Alo Rituparna Sengupta, Abhishek Chatterjee, Bhaswar Chattopadhyay, Soumili Biswas
2004 Rangamatir poth Goutam Halder Short film
2005 O Amar desher Maati Bhaswar Chatterjee, Ayan Banerjee Short film
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 Short film
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 [43]
2018 Tobu Mone Rekho Khapang Tripura, Adrija, Aloy Deb Barma Short film

Recognition

Nimantran has been restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India.[44] Tarun Majumdar was the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 1990. He won the Lifetime Achievement honor at the West Bengal Film Journalist Association Awards in 2017.[45]

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the death of Tarun Majumdar.[46]

See also

References

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  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. ^ চিরতরুণ. Ei Samay (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "10th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Tarun Majumdar". www.upperstall.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  7. ^ Datta, Utpal (1994). Towards a heroic cinema. M.C. Sarkar & Sons. p. 88. ISBN 9788171570508.
  8. ^ 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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  10. ^ তরুণ আলোয়. reader.magzter.com (in Bengali). Anandalok. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Welcome to St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College". www.spcmc.ac.in. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  12. ^ PTI (4 July 2022). "Tarun Majumdar: Uncommon story-teller who depicted the lives of common people on celluloid". National Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
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  25. ^ "What craft?". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
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  39. ^ 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.
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  46. ^ "Legendary director Tarun Majumder passes away | The Daily Star". www.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 5 April 2026.


See also

  • Raj Chakraborty
  • Sujit Mondal
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