Vande Mātaram is a poem written in Sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s. The first two verses of the poem were adopted as the National Song of India in October 1937 by the Congress.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "great and outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$12,000).
Meghe Dhaka Tara is a 1960 film written and directed by Ritwik Ghatak, based on a social novel by Shaktipada Rajguru with the same title. It stars Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Bijon Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee. It was part of a trilogy consisting of Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), Komal Gandhar (1961), and Subarnarekha (1962), all dealing with the aftermath of the Partition of Bengal during the Partition of India in 1947 and the refugees coping with it.
Lalon, also known as Lalon Shah, Lalon Fakir, Shahji and titled Fakir, Shah, was a prominent Bengali spiritual leader, philosopher, mystic poet and social reformer born in Jhenaidah, Bengal Subah. Regarded as an icon of Bengali culture, he inspired and influenced many philosophers, poets and social thinkers including Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Allen Ginsberg. Lalon's philosophy of humanity rejects all distinctions of caste, class, and creed and takes stand against theological conflicts and racism. It denies all worldly affairs in search of the soul and embodied the socially transformative role of sub-continental Bhakti and Sufism.
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.
Bengali literature denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali has developed over the course of roughly 1,300 years. If the emergence of the Bengali literature supposes to date back to roughly 650 AD, the development of Bengali literature claims to be 1600 years old. The earliest extant work in Bengali literature is the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystic songs in Old Bengali dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The timeline of Bengali literature is divided into three periods: ancient (650–1200), medieval (1200–1800) and modern. Medieval Bengali literature consists of various poetic genres, including Hindu religious scriptures, Islamic epics, Vaishnava texts, translations of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit texts, and secular texts by Muslim poets. Novels were introduced in the mid-19th century. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore is the best known figure of Bengali literature to the world. Kazi Nazrul Islam, notable for his activism and anti-British literature, was described as the Rebel Poet and is now recognised as the National poet of Bangladesh.
Rimi Barnali Chatterjee is an Indian author and professor of English at Jadavpur University.
Tarun Majumdar was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandalok Award. In 1990, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award. He is recognized as one of the greatest influential filmmakers of India. His few movies were restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India, along with his Contemporaries Arabinda Mukhopadhyay, Goutam Ghose. He is Legendary filmmaker for Ganadevata in 1978, Nimantran in 1971,Palatak in 1963.
Cinema of West Bengal, also known as Tollywood or Bengali cinema, is an Indian film industry of Bengali-language motion pictures. It is based in the Tollygunge region of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The origins of the nickname Tollywood, a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge and Hollywood, dates back to 1932. It was a historically important film industry, at one time the centre of Indian film production. The Bengali film industry is known for producing many of Indian cinema's most critically acclaimed global Parallel Cinema and art films, with several of its filmmakers gaining prominence at the Indian National Film Awards as well as international acclaim.
Shaheb Chatterjee is a Bengali Indian male actor and singer of Tollywood Bangla and Bengali television.
Sreelekha Mitra is an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. Winner of a BFJA Award and an Anandalok Award, Mitra is best known for her roles in films such as Hothat Brishti (1998), Kantatar (2006), Aschorjo Prodip (2013), Swade Ahlade (2015), Choukath (2015) and Rainbow Jelly (2018).
Srijit Mukherji is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the limelight. His first feature film Autograph (2010), was a critical and commercial success, where he had written the script with Chatterjee in mind. His fifth film, Jaatishwar, won four national awards at India's 61st National Film Awards (2014). He won the National Film Award for Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay for his sixth film, Chotushkone, at India's 62nd National Film Awards. His eighth film, Rajkahini had been remade into a Hindi film titled, Begum Jaan, starring Vidya Balan in 2017. His 2018 release Ek Je Chhilo Raja won the 'Best Bengali Film' Award at India's 66th National Film Awards. His 2019 film Gumnaami won him the Best Bengali Film and Best Adapted Screenplay Awards at the 67th National Film Awards.
Baishey Srabon is a 2011 Indian Bengali neo-noir psychological action thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji, marking his second film after Autograph (2010). 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.
Locket Chatterjee is an Indian actress, politician and former Member of Parliament for Hooghly, from West Bengal, India. She is also a classical dancer. She completed her training in Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri and Creative, but is better known as an actress, in Tollywood. Previously, she was the state president of BJP Mahila Morcha, the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal. Now she is a General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal.
Baṅgamātā, Bangla Maa, Mother Bengal or simply বাংলা/ Bangla, is a personification of Bengal created during the Bengali Renaissance and later adopted by the Bengali nationalists. In Bangladeshi Bengali and Indian Bengali poetry, literature, cultural and patriotic song, she has become a symbol of Bangladesh and India's West Bengal & Tripura and considered as a personification of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The Mother Bengal represents not only biological motherness but its attributed characteristics as well – protection, never ending love, consolation, care, the beginning and the end of life.
Khirer Putul is a children's fantasy novel written by Abanindranath Tagore in 1896. Khirer Putul is considered a masterpiece and landmark by writers in Bengali language children's literature. Khirer Putul is a simple and touching tale about the sugar doll, the fate of Duorani and a tricky and extraordinary monkey. Aadi Brahmosamaj press first published this book. Later on, it was translated into other languages. The story was adapted into a film of the same name by Indian writer and director Purnendu Pattrea in 1976. Khirer Putul, an Indian television soap opera based on the novel aired on Zee Bangla in 2020.
Sudeshna Roy is an Indian film director, actor and writer based in Tollywood. She started her career as an entertainment journalist before collaborating with the director Abhijit Guha and foraying into the film industry. She is a popular artist in the Bangla Entertainment Industry. Besides directing films, she acted in several films, daily soaps and web series. The duo debuted with their first film Shudhu Tumi, and then they made several films in varied genres. However, they are known to make urban middle-class romantic comedy films. They worked with Abir Chatterjee, who debuted in their film Cross Connection in 2009. They came into prominence after their critically acclaimed film Teen Yaari Kotha. Teen Yaari Katha was showcased in the competition section of Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in 2012. It travelled to the Bangkok International Film as well as Kolkata International Film Festival. Their film Bapi bari jaa is considered a cult classic among the Bangla film lovers. It also marked the debut of Arjun Chakraborty and MP Mimi Chakraborty in the Bangla film industry.
Strir Patra is a 1972 Bengali film, directed by Purnendu Patri, based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore. Madhabi Mukherjee plays the lead role. Tagore's story, first published in 1914, is considered to be a path-breaking feminist text. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali, as well as a number of BFJA Awards.
Ratna Deepam is a 1953 Indian film directed by Debaki Bose. The film stars Abhi Bhattacharya and Anupama. It was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Bengali languages. The Bengali version was titled Ratnadeep.
Postmaster is a Bengali short story by Rabindranath Tagore that explores themes of loneliness, human connection, and the contrasts between urban and rural life. It was written in 1891.
