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 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.
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, and social activist. Bose has appeared in Bengali films such as Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Kalpurush, Anuranan, Antaheen, Laptop and The Japanese Wife. He has also appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam, Jhankaar Beats, Kucch Luv Jaisaa, Chameli and Shaurya. He also played the antagonist in the Tamil thriller Vishwaroopam (2013) and its sequel. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" while Maxim named him "the Sean Penn of Oriental cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English, August and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. He is also notable for his social activism: he participated in the relief efforts that followed the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and is also the founder of the anti-discrimination NGO, The Foundation.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer is a 2002 Indian English-language drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan. The film features Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahul Bose portrays the character of Raja Chowdhury, a Bengali Muslim wildlife photographer. The story revolves around these two lead characters during a fateful bus journey amidst the carnages of a communal strife in India. Zakir Hussain, an Indian tabla maestro, composed the background score and music for the film; Goutam Ghose, a film director himself, was the cinematographer.
Konkona Sen Sharma is an Indian actress, writer, and director who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmaker–actress Aparna Sen, Sen Sharma appears primarily in arthouse independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema. She has also acted in mainstream films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag for which too she has received awards.
15 Park Avenue is a 2005 English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen. It stars Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Soumitra Chatterjee, Waheeda Rehman, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Rahul Bose and Kanwaljeet Singh.It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English.
Yatra is a 2007 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Goutam Ghose. It featured Rekha, Nana Patekar and Deepti Naval.
The Japanese Wife is a 2010 Indian-Japanese romantic drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. It stars Rahul Bose, Raima Sen and Moushumi Chatterjee, and Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku in the title role. It is in English, Bengali and Japanese. The film was originally scheduled for release in October 2008, but the release was delayed until 9 April 2010.
Kaushiki Chakraborty is an Indian classical vocalist. She attended Sangeet Research Academy, and was one of the exponents of Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers Khyals and semi-classical Thumris. She is the recipient 2005 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in the Asia-Pacific category. She is the daughter of Hindustani classical vocalist, Ajoy Chakraborty and she has held performances with her husband, Parthasarathi Desikan. In 2020, she was awarded Nari Shakti Puraskar.
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.
Iti Mrinalini is a 2011 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sen collaborated with Ranjan Ghosh to write both the story and the screenplay. The film was produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Ltd. Some critics consider it to be among her best work, ranking with Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and 36 Chowringhee Lane.
Sohini Sengupta is an Indian film and theatre actress. Daughter of actor Rudraprasad Sengupta and Swatilekha Sengupta, who are also active in theatre, Sohini is one of the leading actors of the Bengali theatre group Nandikar. As a member of the group, she has worked with prominent theatre personalities such as Debshankar Halder, Sumanto Gangopadhyay and Parthapratim Deb, and was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi's 2007 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for contributions to theatre. She also played a supporting role in Aparna Sen’s film Paromitar Ek Din (2000) for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2000 National Film Awards.
Room No. 103 (2015) is a Bengali film directed by Aniket Chattopadhyay and produced by Kaustav Roy. This film is comedy with thriller elements.
Swara Samrat festival is a four-day annual mega festival of Indian classical music and dance held during the winters in Kolkata, India. This festival is the brainchild of Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his vocalist wife, Manasi Majumder and their Sarod player-son Indrayuddh Majumder. The festival is dedicated to Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indian Classical Music and Dance Legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Aashish Khan, Dr. Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Guru Sujata Mohapatra, Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Kaushiki Chakraborty are some of the artists who have previously performed in this festival.
Priyanka Bose is an Indian actress and model. Active on stage and in films, she is best known for her role in the Italian film Gangor, among others. Priyanka started her film career with small roles in Love Sex aur Dhokha, Sorry Bhai!, Johnny Gaddar and Guzaarish. Her first film in a lead role was Gangor by the Italian director, Italo Spinelli in 2010. She gained recognition as an actress with her performance as a tribal woman in the film and went on to win the best actress award at the New Jersey Independent South Asian Film Festival.
Jogajog is a 2015 Bengali film adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's 1929 novel of the same name directed by Sekhar Das.
The Vasantotsav is an annual Indian Classical music, semi classical, folk and light music festival held in Pune. The festival is organized by Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande Pratisthan, Pune, in the memory of the late Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande by inviting respected artists to perform at this event. Nana Patekar is the pillar supporting this entire event.
Jai Kali Kalkattawali is an Indian Bengali language anthology crime "Chalo Paltai" drama series that premiered on 24 July 2017 starring Ananya Chatterjee and Biswanath Basu. It was produced by Shree Venkatesh Films. It went off-air on 1 June 2019, airing 661 episodes. It was re-aired on Star Jalsha and Star Jalsha HD during lockdoown period, due to COVID-19.
Tansener Tanpura is a musical mystery Bengali web series. The series is about the notes and melodies of music through the traditional Indian classical music. Directed by Soumik Chattopadhyay and developed in Anandagarh. Pushpita Mukherjee and Debshankar Haldar join in Tansener Tanpura Season 2.
