Dhritiman Chatterjee Explained

Dhritiman Chatterjee
Birth Date:30 May 1945
Birth Place:Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Occupation:Film, TV & Stage Actor, Ad & Short filmmaker, Literary Performer & Reciter

Dhritiman Chatterjee is an Indian actor. He began his acting career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray's (The Adversary).[1] Most of his acting work has been in India's "parallel", or independent, cinema with filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Aparna Sen, among others and is noted for his acting skills.[2] [3] He has also worked in English films with well-known filmmakers such as Deepa Mehta and Jane Campion.

Early life

Dhritiman is his screen name. He is otherwise known as Sundar Chatterjee and is quite active on the English stage in Chennai. Born on 30 May 1945, he was educated at Kolkata's St Xavier's Collegiate School and Presidency College, and the Delhi School of Economics. Chatterjee went on to pursue a parallel career in advertising, social communications and documentary filmmaking.

Career

In 2019, Chatterjee lent his voice for narration in If Not for You, a documentary about Kolkata's long lasting love affair with legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. About his acting qualities, Satyajit Ray once remarked, "I do not know what definition of a star these filmmakers have been using, but mine goes something like this. A star is a person on the screen who continues to be expressive and interesting even after he or she has stopped doing anything. This definition does not exclude the rare and lucky breed that gets lakhs of rupees per film; and it includes everyone who keeps his calm before the camera, projects a personality and evokes empathy. This is a rare breed too but one has met it in our films. Dhritiman Chatterjee of Pratidwandi is such a star." - (Our Films Their Films)[4]

Never a part of mainstream "Bollywood", he's made an astonishingly small number of films. In recent years he's taken roles with filmmakers as diverse as Jane Campion and hugely successful Mumbai directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mani Ratnam.[5] Dhritiman has received several acting awards in India and has been on the Jury of the Indian National film Awards.

He is currently the anchor of Pradhanmantri in Bengali on ABP Ananda from 14 December 2013.

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
1970Siddhartha Chaudhuri - a.k.a.

Siddharta and the City - a.k.a. The Adversary

1972Picnic
1973PadatikPolitical Activist - a.k.a. The Guerilla Fighter
1974Jadu Bansha
1980Akaler Sandhanea.k.a. Akaler Sandhaney - a.k.a. In Search of Famine
198136 Chowringhee LaneSamaresh Moitra
1989GanashatruNishrith Gupta - a.k.a. An Enemy of the People (UK)
1991AgantukPrithwish Sen Gupta - a.k.a. The Stranger - a.k.a.

The Visitor (International: English title) - a.k.a. Visiteur, Le (France)

1993Sunya Theke SuruProfessor Bhishmadev Sharma - a.k.a. A Return to Zero (India: English title)
1997Kahini
200515 Park AvenuePsychiatrist Dr. Kunal Barua
2008ChaturangaUncle
2009Joy LiesVenkat
Hitlist
2010Ekti Tarar KhonjeLand Lord uncle
Gorosthaney SabdhanMahadev Chowdhury
2011NoukadubiHemnalni's father
2012Maya Bazaar
2014Ek Phaali Rodh Dr. Somshankar Roy
2015NaxalShiddhartha Chowdhury
Agantuker PorePrithwish Sen Gupta
Shajarur KantaByomkesh Bakshi
2016Double FeludaDr. Nihar Dutta
2019Professor Shonku O El DoradoProfessor Shonku[6]

Hindi

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005Black Paul McNally
2007Guru Contractor Sahaab
200913BMr.Thyagarajan/ Mr.Kamdhar Yavarum Nalam
DIG Sheirgill
2012KahaaniBhaskaran K, Director Intelligence Bureau
2012Agent VinodSir Jagadishwar Metla
2014Kick Raj Bhai
2015Wedding PullavSid Kapoor
2016Pink Judge Satyajit Dutt
ChaurangaPandit
Sanam Teri Kasam Sanjay Pandit
2017 Alexandar
2021ChehreJustice Jagdish Acharya

English

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999Holy Smoke Chidaatma Baba - a.k.a. Holy Smoke! (USA: video box title)
2000Perfumed GardenSage Vaisyzyana - a.k.a. Tales of Kama Sutra (USA: video title)
2013Carnival Master
2015The Man Who Knew InfinityNarayana Iyer
If Not for You

Malayalam

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna BhoomiBirmalda (Village head, Gouri's father)
2018Captain (2018 film)Mr.Sinha

Web series

YearTitleRoleLanguageNetworkNotes
2020Forbidden LoveDr Harold FernandezHindiZEE5
2020Feluda PherotMahesh ChowdhuryBengaliAddatimes

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dhritiman Chatterjee: I never wanted to be an actor. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625235654/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/dhritiman-chatterjee-i-never-wanted-to-be-an-actor/articleshow/72454434.cms?from=mdr . 25 June 2021 .
  2. Web site: Satyajit Ray’s actors remember his genius. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200531212515/https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/satyajit-ray-100-years-actors-genius-barun-chanda-mamata-shankar-dhritiman-chatterjee-madhabi-mukherjee-6424276/ . 31 May 2020 .
  3. Web site: Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428085036/https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/14/20269/Satyajit-Ray-in-100-Anecdotes . 28 April 2021 .
  4. Web site: Dhritiman Chatterjee finds Satyajit Ray’s film relevant during ongoing second surge. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210518030248/https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta/dhritiman-chatterjee-finds-satyajit-rays-films-relevant-in-current-times-of-religious-polarisation/cid/1815893 . 18 May 2021 .
  5. Web site: Dhritiman Chatterjee: 5 iconic roles of the actor in Bengali cinema. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625222539/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/photo-features/dhritiman-chatterjee-5-iconic-roles-of-the-actor-in-bengali-cinema/photostory/64663981.cms . 25 June 2021 .
  6. Web site: Dhritiman Chatterjee to play Professor Shonku, a Satyajit Ray hero. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180803150223/https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/dhritiman-chatterjee-to-play-professor-shonku-a-satyajit-ray-hero/story-K5a5N4cWds5JOuS0boLlHN.html . 3 August 2018 .