Nabendu Ghosh
Encyclopedia
Nabendu Ghosh was an acclaimed author in Bengali literature
. He has written screenplays of various classic Bollywood
movies. Amongst others, he is particularly known for his screenplays of Sujata
, Bandini
, Devdas
, Majhli Didi
, Abhimaan
and Teesri Kasam
. He has written stories for movies like Baap Beti, Shatranj
, Raja Rani
. He has also acted briefly in Do Bigha Zameen
, Teesri Kasam and Prahaar. Later in his career, he directed four movies as well.
(presently in Bangladesh
). At the age of 12 he became a popular actor on stage. As an acclaimed dancer in Uday Shankar
style, he won several medals between 1939 and 1945. Ghosh lost a government job in 1944 for writing Dak Diye Jaai, set against the Quit India Movement
launched by Indian National Congress
. The novel catapulted him to fame and he moved to Calcutta in 1945. He soon ranked among the most progressive young writers in Bengali literature.
After partition, Urdu
was declared the state language of East Pakistan
; thereby banning all Bengali literature and films. It was this political division that prompted Nabendu Ghosh to join Bimal Roy
in 1951, when he left to make films for Bombay Talkies
. Others in the team included Hrishikesh Mukherjee
, Asit Sen
and Paul Mahendra.
Nabendu Ghosh has written on all historical upheavals of 1940s - famine, riots, partition - as well as love. His oeuvre bears the distinct stamp of his outlook towards life. His literary efforts are 'pointing fingers.' There is a multi-coloured variety, a deep empathy for human emotions, mysterious layers of meaning, subtle symbolism, description of unbearable life. Love for humanity is also reflected in his writings. He has to his credit 26 novels and 14 collections of short story.
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
. He has written screenplays of various classic Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movies. Amongst others, he is particularly known for his screenplays of Sujata
Sujata
Sujātā is a Sanskrit word meaning "from a good family origin". Su means 'good' and jātā implies jāti or 'caste'. Thus the implied and correct meaning of the word Sujata means 'of good caste' or 'the well born'. It has to be noted here that the caste-system is the spine of social Hinduism...
, Bandini
Bandini
Bandini is a 1963 Hindi film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, the man who directed classics like Do Bigha Zameen and Devdas...
, Devdas
Devdas
Devdas is a Bengali Romance novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Essentially, it is a retelling of the Krishna, Radha, and Meera myths, the relationships between its three protagonists - Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukhi - paralleling the Hindu deities'.-Plot summary:Devdas is a young man from...
, Majhli Didi
Majhli Didi
Majhli Didi is a 1967 Bollywood film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, based on Bengali language story, Mejdidi by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and starring Dharmendra and Meena Kumari....
, Abhimaan
Abhimaan
Abhimaan is a 1973 Bollywood film starring Amitabh Bachchan; his real-life wife, Jaya Bachchan; Asrani; and Bindu. It was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.The film is perhaps best remembered for its songs, composed and arranged by the late S. D...
and Teesri Kasam
Teesri Kasam
-Awards:* 1967 National Film Award for Best Film* 1967 Moscow International Film Festival: Grand Prix - Nominated-External links:*http://www.upperstall.com/films/teesrikasam.html...
. He has written stories for movies like Baap Beti, Shatranj
Shatranj
Shatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
, Raja Rani
Raja Rani
Raja Rani is a 1973 Hindi film. Produced by Jagdish Kumar, the film is written and directed by veteran writer Sachin Bhowmick. This was to be Sachin's first and last attempt to take on direction. The film starred Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore along with Iftekar and Asit Sen. Mumtaz makes an...
. He has also acted briefly in Do Bigha Zameen
Do Bigha Zameen
Do Bigha Zamin is 1953 Hindi film, directed by Bengali film director Bimal Roy and star Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles. The film is known for its socialist theme, and is an important film in the early parallel cinema of India and is rightly considered a trend setter...
, Teesri Kasam and Prahaar. Later in his career, he directed four movies as well.
Biography
Nabendu Ghosh was born in 1917 in DhakaDhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
(presently in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
). At the age of 12 he became a popular actor on stage. As an acclaimed dancer in Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...
style, he won several medals between 1939 and 1945. Ghosh lost a government job in 1944 for writing Dak Diye Jaai, set against the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
launched by Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. The novel catapulted him to fame and he moved to Calcutta in 1945. He soon ranked among the most progressive young writers in Bengali literature.
After partition, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
was declared the state language of East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
; thereby banning all Bengali literature and films. It was this political division that prompted Nabendu Ghosh to join Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
in 1951, when he left to make films for Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies
The Bombay Talkies Limited was a movie studio produced 102 movies, founded in 1934 in Malad, Bombay , India, by Himanshu Rai, Rajnarayan Dube and Devika Rani along with businessmen like F. E...
. Others in the team included Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee ) was a famous Indian film director known for a number of films, including Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, and Namak Haraam.Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades,...
, Asit Sen
Asit Sen
Asit Sen may refer to:*Asit Sen , prolific Bollywood film actor and comedian*Asit Sen , East Bengali film director who directed several Hindi and Bengali films...
and Paul Mahendra.
Nabendu Ghosh has written on all historical upheavals of 1940s - famine, riots, partition - as well as love. His oeuvre bears the distinct stamp of his outlook towards life. His literary efforts are 'pointing fingers.' There is a multi-coloured variety, a deep empathy for human emotions, mysterious layers of meaning, subtle symbolism, description of unbearable life. Love for humanity is also reflected in his writings. He has to his credit 26 novels and 14 collections of short story.
Literary awards
- Bankim Puraskar from the Bangla Academy, Govt. of West Bengal
- Haraprasad Ghosh Medal from Bangiya Sahitya Parishad
- Bibhuti Bhushan Sahitya Arghya
- Bimal Mitra Puraskar
- Amrita Puraskar
Film Awards
- 1997: Honoris Causa conferred by Film and Television Institute of IndiaFilm and Television Institute of IndiaFilm and Television Institute of India , is an autonomous Institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It is fully aided by Central Government of India. It is situated in the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company in Pune, India...
for his "Significant Contribution to Indian Cinema" - 1989: Indira Gandhi Swarn Kamal ( National award) for Production and Direction - 'Trishagni'
- 1969: Filmfare Best Screenplay AwardFilmfare Best Screenplay AwardThe Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.-Superlatives:Most AwardsSalim-Javed - 3Basu Chatterjee - 2Mani Ratnam - 2Vijay Tendulkar - 2Rajkumar Hirani - 2...
, Majhli DidiMajhli DidiMajhli Didi is a 1967 Bollywood film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, based on Bengali language story, Mejdidi by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and starring Dharmendra and Meena Kumari....
(1969) - BFJA Award for Best ScreenplayBengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Screenplay AwardHere is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won....
: Majhli DidiMajhli DidiMajhli Didi is a 1967 Bollywood film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, based on Bengali language story, Mejdidi by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and starring Dharmendra and Meena Kumari....
(1969) - BFJA Award for Best ScreenplayBengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Screenplay AwardHere is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won....
: Teesri KasamTeesri Kasam-Awards:* 1967 National Film Award for Best Film* 1967 Moscow International Film Festival: Grand Prix - Nominated-External links:*http://www.upperstall.com/films/teesrikasam.html...
(1967) - Film World Award for Best Screenplay (Do AnjaaneDo AnjaaneDo Anjaane is a 1976 Hindi film. Produced by Tito, it is directed by Dulal Guha. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Prem Chopra, Pradeep Kumar, Utpal Dutt, Lalita Pawar and a young pre-stardom Mithun Chakraborty. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji...
)