Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was an Indian novelist, poet, essayist and journalist. He was the author of the 1882 Bengali language novel Anandamath, which is one of the landmarks of modern Bengali and Indian literature. He was the composer of Vande Mataram, written in highly Sanskritised Bengali, personifying Bengal as a mother goddess and inspiring activists during the Indian Independence Movement. Chattopadhayay wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali. He is known as Sahitya Samrat in Bengali.
Anandamath is a Bengali historical novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century, it is considered one of the most important novels in the history of Bengali and Indian literature. Its first English publication was titled The Abbey of Bliss.
Thakurmar Jhuli is a collection of Bengali folk tales and fairy tales. The author Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder collected some folktales of Bengali and published some of them under the name of "Thakurmar Jhuli" in 1907. The Nobel-Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore wrote the introduction to the anthology. Since then, it has become iconic in Bengali children's literature, becoming a household name in West Bengal and Bangladesh over the years.
Pandit Mokshada Charan Samadhyayi (1874–?) was a leading figure of the Jugantar movement.
The Sannyasi rebellion was a revolt by the sannyasis and sadhus in Bengal, India in the late 18th century which took place around Murshidabad and Baikunthapur forests of Jalpaiguri under the leadership of Pandit Bhabani Charan Pathak. While some refer to it as an early war for India's independence from foreign rule, since the right to collect tax had been given to the British East India Company after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, other historians categorize it as acts of violent banditry following the depopulation of the province in the Bengal famine of 1770.
Star Jalsha is an Indian Bengali language general entertainment pay television channel operated by Disney Star, a subsidiary of Disney India. It primarily broadcasts family dramas, comedies, reality shows and films. It launched its own HD feed on 14 April 2016.
Devi Chaudhurani is a Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and published in 1884. It was later translated to English by Subodh Chunder Mitter. Following closely after Anandamath, Bankim Chandra renewed call for a resurgent India that fights against oppression of the British Empire with strength from within the common people, based on traditional Indian values of austerity, dedication and selflessness. It is another important novel in the history of Bengali and Indian literature. Since it fuelled the patriotic struggle for Indian independence from the British Empire, the novel was banned by the British. The ban was lifted later by the government of India after independence. In this novel, Bankim Chandra reinforced his belief that armed face-to-face conflict with the Royal Army is the only way to win independence.
Tomay Amay Mile is a Bengali television drama on Star Jalsha. It ran from 11 March 2013 to 21 March 2016 and starred Ditipriya Roy, Riju Biswas, Roosha Chatterjee and Gourab Roy Chowdhury. The show was official remake of Star Plus's show Diya Aur Baati Hum.
Byomkesh was a 2014 Indian Bengali crime fiction television series based on the Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The series starred Gaurav Chakrabarty, Saugata Bandyopadhyay and Ridhima Ghosh as Byomkesh Bakshi, Ajit and Satyabati respectively. The series premiered on 20 November 2014 on Colors Bangla channel and ended on 14 November 2015. This series is re-runned on 4 March 2024. The first episode was narrated by Sabyasachi Chakrabarty.
Agnipariksha was a popular Indian Bengali television serial, starring Sonali Chowdhury and popular cine-actor Bhaswar Chatterjee in lead roles that was telecasted by Zee Bangla between 2009 and 2014.
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.
Sumitra Devi was an Indian actress who is recognised for her work in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema during the 1940s and 1950s. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her time, she is best remembered for her role in the 1952 Hindi film Mamta directed by Dada Gunjal. She was the recipient of BFJA Award for Best Actress for two times. She was one of the exquisite beauties of her time and has been regarded as the most beautiful woman of her time by veterans such as Pradeep Kumar and Uttam Kumar.
Mankar is a village in Galsi I CD Block in Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India.
Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni was an Indian Bengali historical drama television series which aired on Bengali Entertainment Channel Zee Bangla and is also available on the digital platform ZEE5. It was premiered on 24 July 2017. The serial was earlier produced by Subrata Roy and then it was produced by Zee Bangla. It completed 1,000 episodes on its third birthday and 1,500 episodes on 26 December 2021. After a successful run of 4+1⁄2 years, Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni went off-air on 13 February 2022.
Netaji is a Bengali biographical soap opera on the life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that premiered on 14 January 2019 and aired on Bengali GEC Zee Bangla. Based majorly on Udyata Kharga Subhash by Achintya Kumar Sengupta and produced by Surinder Films, the series stars Abhishek Bose in the eponymous role, with Basabdatta Chatterjee, marking her comeback on television, Dhruvajyoti Sarkar, Kaushik Chakraborty, Sriparna Roy, Debopriyo Sarkar, Sohan Bandopadhyay, Fahim Mirza appearing in other recurring roles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shooting of the series was stalled. It was rumoured that along with Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni, this series will be axed the channel. Putting rest to such rumours, the shooting started from June 11 and new episodes started to air from June 15, 2020.
Prothoma Kadambini was an Indian Bengali television biographical period drama based on the biography of the first practising female physician of British-ruled India and South Asia, Doctor Kadambini Ganguly. The show was aired on Bengali General Entertainment Channel Star Jalsha and is also available on digital platform Hotstar, that was premiered on 16 March 2020. The show is produced by Shree Venkatesh Films and starred by Solanki Roy and Honey Bafna in lead roles. The show went to off-air on 28 February 2021.
Dhrubatara is an Indian Bengali television Romantic thriller which used to air on Star Jalsha and is also available on digital platform Disney+ Hotstar. It was premiered on 27 January 2020 The show produced by Acropoliis Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., starred Shyamoupti Mudly and Indrajeet Bose as the titular protagonists Tara and Dhruba respectively. It ended on 19 September 2021 with a happy note.
Devi Chowdhurani: Bandit Queen of Bengal is an upcoming Indian Bengali period film directed by Subhrajit Mitra. The film is produced by Aniruddha Dasgupta and Aparna Dasgupta under the banner of ADited Motion Pictures. The film stars Srabanti Chatterjee in the title role, alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee, while Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Arjun Chakrabarty in pivotal roles.
