Satya Bandyopadhyay Explained

Satya Bandyopadhyay
Birth Date:1925
Death Place:Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Nationality:Indian
Years Active:1948–1997
Spouse:Sabita Bandyopadhyay
Father:Banamali Bandyopadhyay
Mother:Charushila Bandyopadhyay

Satya Bandyopadhyay (1925 – 28 July 1997) was an Indian actor, known for his work in Bengali cinema and theatre. He acted in over 300 movies, in numerous plays and performed frequently on the radio.[1]

Early life

He was born at Kolkata in the year 1925. His parents were Banamali and Charushila. His mother died at a young age. His father also died when he was a teenager. After completing college education from City College, Kolkata, he took up a job at Titagarh paper mill. At this time he was known for his sporting skills on football ground and badminton courts.[2]

Acting in theatre

His acting career started with acting in amateur clubs. Birendra Krishna Bhadra helped him get roles in plays on All India Radio. His first major role was Shaheeder Daak', a Gananatya production. He acted in multiple roles in major plays such as Ulka, Saheb Bibi Golam, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Chowringee, Begum Mary Biswas, Asami Hajir, Manjari Opera and Devi Choudhurani.

He started writing plays and act in them. Most of these plays were very popular, such as Sesh theke shuru, Erao Manush and Nagpash. His most notable play was Nahabat which was a blockbuster of its time. His acting skill in theatre were revered by many prominent contemporary directors and actors. Along with his friend Tarun Kumar Chatterjee, they established Uttam Mancha, a theatre dedicated to Tarun's elder brother and great actor Uttam Kumar.

Acting in movies

His acting career started in late 1940s as a hero in few Bengali movies. Later he established himself as a character artist and became an automatic choice in comedy movies. He has also worked in villainous roles with equal ease. Most famous of those were Charmurti, where he played the iconic character of Ghutghutananda, a role of a criminal with rib tickling lines.

Many great directors such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen worked with him. His most memorable association was with director Tarun Majumdar with whom he worked in multiple movies.

Selected filmography

YearFilmDirectorRole
1948Bhuli NaiHemen Gupta
1951BarjatriSatyen Bose
1952Pasher BariSudhir Mukherjee
1953Swashur Bari
1953Bansher Kella
1953Bou thakuranir hatBiva's husband
1954Ladies Seat
1954Ei Satyi
1955Bhogoban Sree Sree Ramkrishna
1956TonsilTapan Sinha
1956Sabdhan
1956Nagardola
1956Gobindadas
1956Chor
1957Ulka
1957Ratri shese
1957Ami Boro hobo
1957Surer porose
1965MahapurushSatyajit RayNitai Babu
1966NayakSatyajit RayWWWW Sage
1967Balika Badhu (1967 film)Tarun Majumdar
1969Bibaha BibhratAshim Bannerjee
1971KuheliTarun MajumdarDr. Chaudhuri
1971Calcutta 71Mrinal Sen
1973Shriman PrithvirajTarun MajumdarRasik's father
1974ChorusMrinal Sen
1976Jana AranyaSatyajit RaySomnath's father
1977Bhola MoiraPiyush Kanti Ganguly
1978CharmurtiUmanath BhattacharyaSwami Ghutghutananda
1979GhatkaliBimal Roy Jr.
1980Dadar KirtiTarun MajumdarParitosh Chatterjee
1981Akaler ShandhaneyMrinal Sen
1982Amrita Kumbher SandhaneDilip Roy
1986Tin PurushUmanath Bhattacharya
1987Nadia Nagar
1992City of Joy (1992 film)Roland Joffé
1996DamuRaja Sen

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ঘুটঘুটানন্দ ধরলেন নহবতের পোঁ. bn.
  2. Web site: Bandopadhyay. Satya. many-facets-of-actor-satya-bandyopadhyay. anandabazar.com.