Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by Association. [1] The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism and film industry.
Members of the association are drawn from the film section of the entire press of West Bengal composed of dailies, periodicals and film journals in various languages published from Kolkata. Film correspondents and critics working for any newspaper or periodicals published outside Bengal having their base in Kolkata were also eligible to be members of this association.
The association was the first to institute awards in an endeavor to promote and encourage the production of better films, when in 1938, a year after its inception, the 1st Motion Picture Congress was held in Faridpur (now in Bangladesh). Representatives of the association played a vital role in its deliberations.
In 1952 when India staged the First International Film Festival, a large exhibition was held in Kolkata Maidan. It included an exhibit of antique movie cameras, projectors and other accessories, showing the growth of films and development of the Indian film industry. BFJA had its own stall where it displayed its various magazines, periodicals and journals published from Kolkata, as well as copies of old magazines and journals on films tracing the history of the growth of film journalism in the country.
Thereafter, when the I.F.F.I. became a regular event on the circuit of International Film Festivals, the BFJA tendered active assistance and co-operation whenever called upon to serve on any committee in the interest the festival's success. For the last four years the Association has been bringing out a special bulletin to commemorate the I.F.F.I. and hosting a reception for the visiting delegates.
To the members of BFJA, cinema, apart from its basic function of providing clean entertainment, is a strong social, cultural and artistic force to help the progressive development of the nation. [2]
Soumitra Chatterjee is the most awarded actor of all time with 9 wins, followed by Uttam Kumar (8) and Prosenjit Chatterjee (7), Rajesh Khanna (4), Sabyasachi Chakraborty (2) and Utpal Dutt (2).
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music director and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Konkani, Sanskrit and Urdu. He was an artist of Bengali and Hindi film music, Rabindra Sangeet, and many other genres. He was the recipient of two National Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and was popularly known as the "voice of God".
Aparna Sen is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards East and thirteen Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. For her contribution in the field of arts, the Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award.
SoumitraChatterjee was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. He is best known for his collaborations with director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films.
Uttam Kumar, widely known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema.
Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series Mahabharat. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she is known for her versatility and accent adaptation. She has worked with directors such as Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh. She is a trained Rabindra Sangeet vocalist and a classical dancer. She received several awards including a National Award and two BFJA Awards. In October 2016, she was nominated as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, by the President of India. She served as the President of BJP Mahila Morcha in West Bengal. She served as the General Secretary and the Vice President for the West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes' Forum, a body representing cine artistes. Her films have commulatively grossed more than US$100 million worldwide.
Brahmachari (transl. Celibate) is a 1968 Indian film. Written by Sachin Bhowmick, it is a G. P. and Ramesh Sippy production directed by Bhappi Sonie. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree, Pran, Mumtaz, Jagdeep, Sachin and Asit Sen. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan. The film became a box office Super Hit and won several awards, including Filmfare Best Movie Award.
Kora Kagaz is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by Sanath Kothari and directed by Anil Ganguly. The film stars Vijay Anand, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K. Hangal, Achala Sachdev and Deven Verma. The film's music is by Kalyanji Anandji. The famous title song "Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz" was rendered by Kishore Kumar.
Sagina Mahato is a 1970 Bengali film produced by Shri J. K. Kapur and directed by Tapan Sinha. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. The film is based on the true story of the labour movement of 1942–43, told through with fictional characters, and the mock trial of Sagina Mahato, the trade union leader of a factory in Siliguri. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. The film was shot on locations in Kurseong, near Darjeeling. A diamond-jubilee hit, it created box-office records in Bengal. The film was remade as a Hindi film titled Sagina in 1974, by Sinha with the same leads, produced by the same producers team J.K. Kapur and Hemen Ganguly, though this version wasn't commercially successful. Film music composed by playback singer Anup Ghoshal.
Atanu Ghosh is an Indian filmmaker. His Bengali film Mayurakshi (2017) was awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. His film Angshumaner Chhobi, Mayurakshi, Binisutoy, Abby Sen and Rupkatha Noy, bagged multiple Awards.He was born on 12 August 1969 in Kolkata, West Bengal. One of his Bengali movies named Mayurakshi was awarded as the Best Feature Film in Bengali. Atanu started his career as a scriptwriter and director for documentary films in 1996. For his work in Aar Ek Bampi, he received the Doordarshan National Awards for Best Children's Telefilm.
Anandalok Puraskar or Anandalok Awards ceremony is an award ceremony for Bengali film in India. The Anandalok, only film magazine in Bengali language, published from Ananda Publishers and Ananda Bazar Patrika presents this award (Puraskar). The magazine was started on 25 January 1975 and the awards ceremony was started in 1998.
Bappaditya Bandopadhyay or Bappaditya Banerjee was an Indian film director and poet.
Kaushik Sen is an Indian actor in film, television and theatre, based in Kolkata. He is the director of the theatre group Swapnasandhani. He won a Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for best supporting actor for his performance in the Mrinal Sen directed film Aamar Bhuvan. He was awarded Girish Purashkar by the Cultural Department of the government of West Bengal for his contributions to theatre.
Anil Chatterjee was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-nineties and is mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted or performed in about 150 movies, including a few in Hindi. He played different shades, though mostly as a character actor, as well as in leading roles and at times as an antagonist, despite the limited opportunities he received. Irrespective of the roles, he left an indelible impression on the viewers and the critics. He also acted in the leading role in a tele-serial named Naqab in the national network of Doordarshan. He is one of the very few selected actors who worked with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumdar and Mrinal Sen; with the first three directors, he performed with on more than a number of occasions. His performance in the title role of the film Deshbandhu Chittaranjan [a biopic on the noted and revered freedom-fighter and barrister Chittaranjan Das (1870–1925), who was conferred the title of "Deshbandhu "] won the appreciation of Basanti Devi, the wife of the "Deshbandhu".
Saswata Chatterjee is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majumdar's Kaalpurush. He gained popularity by portraying the character of Topshe in a Feluda-based television series directed by Sandip Ray. His acting in many Bengali films has been praised by the critics, including his portrayal of a Ritwik Ghatak-inspired character in the 2013 film Meghe Dhaka Tara. He enjoyed success at the national level in Sujoy Ghosh's 2012 blockbuster Hindi film, Kahaani, where he played Bob Biswas, an assassin.
Anupam Roy is an Indian singer-songwriter, music director, composer, songwriter, guitarist, playback singer from Kolkata, West Bengal. He made his debut with Amake Amar Moto Thakte Dao & Benche Thakar Gaan, which appeared on the soundtrack of the 2010 Bengali film Autograph. Since then, he has gone on to compose, write lyrics and sing for many Bengali films. In 2015, he made his Bollywood debut, composing the songs and score for Piku. He was nominated for the 61st Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, and won the 61st Filmfare Award for Best Background Score for Piku. Winner of four filmfare awards, he is a recipient of 64th National Film Award for Best Lyrics for the song Tumi Jaake Bhalobasho.
Baishey Srabon is a 2011 Indian Bengali neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji. It was his second film. The cast consists of Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Abir Chatterjee and director Gautam Ghose, making a comeback after a 29-year absence. The film centers on two journalists and two police officers chasing a vengeful psychopath, who leaves behind couplets from Bengali poems.
Anirban Bhattacharya is an Indian actor, theatre actor, singer and director. His first successful theatre production was Debi Sarpamasta, written by Manoj Mitra, directed by Debesh Chattopadhyay. His other notable works are Anthony Soudamini, Nagamandala, Jara Agun Lagay, Bisorjan, FM Mahanagar, Karu Basana, Awdyo Shesh Rajani, Athoi etc. In 2017, he got the Mahindra Excellence Theatre Awards (META) as Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Awdyo Shesh Rajani. In 2015, he started his film career with the Zee Bangla telefilm Kader Kuler Bou. He got fame for his character as Bishan Roy from the film Eagoler Chokh. For playing this role, he was picked up as the Filmfare Awards East for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2017. In 2019, He got his first Best Actor Award for the role of Nikhilesh Chowdhury from the movie Ghawre Bairey Aaj which was immensely praised by critics and audiences. He made his directorial debut through the Bengali crime drama web series Mandaar, which is inspired by William Shakespeare's Macbeth. His second direction Ballavpurer Roopkotha was released on 21 October 2022.
Nabyendu Chatterjee was an Indian Bengali and Hindi film director and producer. A director of twelve feature films and three documentaries, Nabyendu has curved out a sure niche for him in the field of serious and useful cinema of India. His films such as Aaj Kaal Parsur Golpo, Sarisreep, Chopper,Sanskar, Atmaja, Sauda, Shilpi, Parasuramer Kuther,Ranur Pratham Bhaag and Mansur Mian-r Ghora offers glimpses into his directorial directorial talent engaged in exploring diverse social, political and humane issues. He has to his credit a bunch of National Awards. Shilpi, one of his films screened at the 25th International Film Festival of India(IFFI) at Calcutta won two international awards. One at the World Television Film Festival in Japan and the other at the 14th Festival International du film d' Amiens held in France.
West Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as WBFJA Awards, is given by The West Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The association was founded in 2013 in Kolkata. The award show is called Cinemar Somaborton.