Latest revision as of 11:10, 16 December 2024

[edit] Briefly

Priyanka Dasgupta, Nov 13, 2024: The Times of India

Kolkata : Veteran Bengali actor Manoj Mitra deftly juggled diverse roles of a playwright, prose writer, actor, director and philosophy professor. He also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

He was born on Dec 22, 1938, in Khulna, now in Bangladesh. As words of his demise spread, paeans of praise poured in for him and his cultural contributions spanning six decades. “He was a leading personality in our theatre and film worlds, and his contributions were immense,” West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee posted on X.


Echoing sentiments of many, Mitra’s brother, Amar Mitra, recipient of O Henry Prize for a short story, said legends were immortalised by their works. Dipankar De, his co-actor in ‘Banchharamer Bagaan’, described him as a well-mannered human being whose literary compositions had a “delightful sense of humour and subtle sarcasm”.


Some of the important works among the 100 plays he wrote were ‘Chak Bhanga Madhu’, ‘Sajano Bagan’, ‘Dampati’, ‘Ami Madan Bolchhi’, ‘Kenaram Becharam’, ‘Narak Guljar’, ‘Debi Sarpamasta’, ‘Alokanandar Putra Kanya’, ‘Chhayar Prasad’, ‘Chokhe Angul Dada’, ‘Kinu Kaharer Theatre’, ‘Golpo Hekim Saheb’, ‘Nakchhabita’ and ‘Munni-OSaat Chowkidaar’. Mitra’s cinematic adaptation of ‘Sajano Bagan’ by Tapan Sinha was taken to court by Uttam Kumar as the superstar himself had wanted to play its lead.


Mitra’s plays have been translated into various Indian languages and directed by greats like Habib Tanvir, Ratan Thiyam, Kumar Roy and Soumitra Chatterjee.


Five months ago, when Mitra’s health started deteriorating, state education minister Bratya Basu silently extended all support to ensure he received best medical facilities.