Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the city is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India. According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the seventh-most populous city in India, with a population of 4.5 million residents within the city limits, and a population of over 14.1 million residents in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area. It is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In 2021, Kolkata metropolitan area crossed 15 million registered voters. The Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. Kolkata is regarded as the Cultural Capital of India.
Rabindra Sadan is a cultural centre and theatre in Kolkata, located close to the St. Paul's Cathedral on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road in South Kolkata.
Rabindra Sarobar is an artificial lake in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The name also refers to the area surrounding the lake. It is flanked by Southern Avenue to the North, Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road to the West, Dhakuria to the East and the Kolkata Suburban Railway tracks to the south.
Konnagar is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal in India. It is under Uttarpara police station in Serampore subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people.
Sombhu Mitra was an Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright, reciter and an Indian theatre personality, known especially for his involvement in Bengali theatre, where he is considered a pioneer. He remained associated with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) for a few years before founding the Bohurupee theatre group in Kolkata in 1948. He is most noted for films like Dharti Ke Lal (1946), Jagte Raho (1956), and his production of Rakta Karabi based on Rabindranath Tagore's play in 1954 and Chand Baniker Pala, his most noted play as a playwright.
Nandan is a government-sponsored film and cultural centre in Kolkata, India. The primary aim of the cultural hub is to encourage and facilitate cinematic awareness in society. It includes a few comparatively large screens housed in an impressively architectured building. The complex, besides being a modern cinema and cultural complex, is a popular destination for the young and the aged alike.
Paschim Banga Natya Akademi is a learned society for drama and theatre in West Bengal, India. Established on 26 September 1987, it is a wing of the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal. The aim of this society is to develop skill and expertise, to document and archive the history of theater of Bengal, to disseminate information, to understand theories, to promote and project significant creativity in the field.
Sujata Sadan is a theatre auditorium in Kolkata, West Bengal. The theatre auditorium is located at 107 Harish Mukherjee Road, Kolkata 700026. Bengali theatre group like Swapnasandhani regularly perform in this auditorium.
Debshankar Haldar is a Bengali theatre actor with a long career in Bengali theatre groups such as Nandikar, Rangapat, Natyaranga, Sudrak, Gandhar, Bratyajon, Sansriti and Blank Verse. Known for his versatility, he played the role of Debabrata Biswas in ‘Bratyajon’'s production ‘Ruddha Sangeet’, Swami Vivekananda in Lokkrishti's Biley and the historical theatrical figure Sisir Kumar Bhaduri in Indraranga's Nisshanga Samrat. Debshankar has also worked in films.
Girish Mancha is a theatre auditorium located in Bagbazar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The auditorium was inaugurated on 1 July 1986 by Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu. The auditorium was named after Girish Chandra Ghosh.
Madhusudan Mancha is an auditorium in Dhakuria, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is named after Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt. This is controlled and managed by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal. This auditorium is regularly used for theatres. This auditorium is inaugurated on 12 October 1995 by Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister of West Bengal at that time.
Mahajati Sadan is an auditorium located on Chittaranjan Avenue in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This auditorium is regularly used for Bengali theatres. Seminars are also organized in the seminal hall of Mahajati Sadan. This auditorium was an important part of India's freedom movement. Rabindranath Tagore called this auditorium "House of the Nation".
Kumar Roy (1926–2010) was a Bengali theatre actor, director and playwright. In 1983 he won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He was associated with the group Bohurupee. In 1989 he directed the re-creation of the classic play Nabanna (1948). He was the President of the PashchimBanga Natya Akademi from 2006 till his death in 2010. Kumar Roy was also Professor of Drama at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata and Visiting Professor at Sangeet Bhavan, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.
The 18th Annual Kolkata Film Festival was held 10 to 17 November 2012. The Kolkata Film Festival (KFF) is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1995, it is the second oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by the West Bengal Film Centre under the West Bengal Government. Actors and filmmakers including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Dev Adhikari, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Chief Minister Smt. and Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the festival at Netaji Indoor Stadium on 10 November 2012.
Purba Paschim is a Bengali theatre group of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The group was founded in 2005 and has staged several plays like Babli, Ashalin etc. The famous productions of the group are "Patalbabu Filmstar" based on Satyajit Roy's story and " Antony Soudamini" Directed By Soumitra Mitra, Tagores Play Chaturanga Directed By Bratya Basu acted by Kushal Chakraborty, Chaity Ghoshal, Debdut Ghosh, Soumitra Mitra. Notable people like Biswajit Chakraborty, Gargi roychoudhry, Shaantilal Mukherjee, Chaity Ghosal, Debdut Ghosh, Kanchana Moitro, Subhrajeet Dutta, Kushal Chakraborty, Film Actor Rahul acted in this Group. In the Festivals of this Group We have seen, Amman Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan, Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee, Mohan Aghase, Gulzar, Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Nandita Das and Many Others.
Tapas Sen was a noted Indian stage lighting designer, who was an important figure in 20th-century Indian theatre. He started working with Bengali theatre movement in Kolkata in the late 1940s, along with noted directors, Utpal Dutt and Shambhu Mitra. Later he became a founding member of the Indian People's Theatre Association's (IPTA), Delhi chapter, and worked closely with Hindi theatre. Through his career stretching five decades he worked theatre directors, Ebrahim Alkazi, Vijay Tendulkar, and also dancers Sadhana Bose, Chandralekha, Birju Maharaj and Kelucharan Mahapatra. He was known not only for his creative stage lighting, but also had a significant impact on the work of leading theatre director of the time.
Barun Biswas was a Bengali school teacher and a social activist in Sutia, West Bengal, India. In 2000, he co-founded "Sutia Gonodhorshon Pratibad Mancha", an organisation which protested against a local criminal gang, who were using gang-rape to terrorise the people of Sutia. Biswas was murdered on 5 July 2012. In 2013, a Bengali film Proloy was made, based on his life and fight.
Ramgopal Mancha is a theatre auditorium located in Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is owned by Howrah Sanskrit Sahitya Samaj and named after one of the founders of Howrah Sanskrit Sahitya Samaj - Pundit Ramgopal Mukhopadhyay Smritiratna.
