# Tarun Majumdar

Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) 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.
He alongside Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji made his directorial debut, under the screen name Yatrik, with the 1959 Bengali film Chaowa Pawa starring Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar as the leads.
He received his first National Award for the 1962 Bengali film Kancher Swarga. He also garnered wide critical acclamation for his directorial ventures such as Palatak (1963), Nimantran (1971), Sansar Simante (1975) and Ganadevata (1978). He received a National Award, a BFJA Award and a Filmfare Award for Nimantran (1971). Ganadevata (1979) won him a National Award and a Filmfare Award.
He made blockbusters such as Balika Badhu (1967), Kuheli (1971), Shriman Prithviraj (1973), Fuleswari (1974), Dadar Kirti (1980), Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985) and Apan Amar Apan (1990).
His ex-wife Sandhya Roy starred in twenty of his films and Tapas Paul in eight. Moushumi Chatterjee, Mahua Roychoudhury, Ayan Banerjee, Tapas Paul, Abhishek Chatterjee and Nayna Bandyopadhyay were introduced by him to the silver screen. Director/writer Sooraj Barjatya's father Rajkumar Barjatya and Rajkumar Barjatya's Friend was Legendary filmmaker Tarun Majumdar suggested the script of Maine Pyar Kiya.

## Early years

Majumdar was born on 8 January 1931 in Bogra which was then part of Bengal Presidency of British India. His father Birendranath Majumdar was a freedom fighter from Munsirhat. He studied intermediate from St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College and did his Graduation at Scottish Church College both affiliated to the University of Calcutta. He married fellow Bengali actress Sandhya Roy but later they started living separately but never divorced. In May 2011, Majumdar resigned from the post of the advisor of Nandan (West Bengal film centre in Kolkata).

## Career

Majumdar start his career as a Poster Illustrator to Film Technician. His early films were credited to Yatrik (phonetically Jatrik in Bengali). Yatrik was the screenname of the trio of directors Tarun Majumdar, Sachin Mukherji, and Dilip Mukherji until 1963 after which each began to be credited separately. As Yatrik, their first venture was Chaowa Paowa (1959) starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Yatrik made Kancher Swarga (1962) featuring Dilip Mukherjee in the lead.
In 1965, Majumdar made two films — Ektuku Basa with Soumitra Chatterjee and Alor Pipasa with Basanta Choudhury. Both the films featured Sandhya Roy as the female protagonist. In 1967, he made one of the top-grossing films of the year, Balika Badhu, an adaptation of a Bengali story written by Bimal Kar, in which a teenage Moushumi Chatterjee made her debut. He would remake it in Hindi in 1976, where it was a moderate success. His Shriman Prithviraj became a major box office success.
In 1974, Majumdar directed Fuleswari, starring Sandhya Roy as the titular character. Some of the biggest names in the Bengali music industry of the time (viz. Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukherjee, Aarti Mukherjee and Anup Ghoshal) provided vocals for the film's songs. Years later, Majumdar had acknowledged Fuleswari as his favorite film. In 1975, he directed Sansar Simante, based on a screenplay by Rajen Tarafdar, which was itself adapted from a short story by Premendra Mitra. Soumitra Chatterjee portrayed Aghor, a thief. Years later, Chatterjee had admitted Aghor as one of his best roles. In 1979, Majumdar's film Ganadevata became the first Bengali film to win National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
He cast Mahua Roychoudhury as the female lead in Dadar Kirti (1980) based on a short story by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He proposed Debashree Roy to play the role of Bini. Roy who was struggling with her career at that time, used to be credited as Rumki Roy in her films. Majumdar did not like the name Rumki. He suggested before Rumki's mother Arati Roy that her name should be altered into Debashree and her mother agreed. Ayan Banerjee was cast in the role Santu, the chirpy lover of Bini. The film marked the debut of Tapas Paul who starred as the protagonist Kedar who falls in love with Saraswati portrayed by Mahua Roychoudhury. The film became a major box office success catapulting Paul to stardom. The film won Roychoudhury Filmfare Awards East in 1981.
Majumdar cast Sandhya Roy in four consecutive films — Shahar Theke Dure (1981), Meghmukti (1982), Khelar Putul (1982) and Amar Geeti (1984). The last two films became major debacle at the box office generating the speculation in media that Sandhya Roy was no longer capable to draw mass appeal. He roped Tapas Paul and Debashree Roy in the romantic drama Bhalobasa Bhalobasa. The film gained major box office success. Majumdar cast Paul in another two films, Agaman (1988) and Parashmoni (1988).
Majumdar again cast Paul alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee and Satabdi Roy in Apan Amar Apan (1990). The film was a roaring success at the box office.
In 2003, he made a comeback with Alo, a film based on a story written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. Rituparna Sengupta played the titular role. It received critical and popular acclaim and became one of the hits of the year. As in many of Majumdar's films, the soundtrack featured songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore.
In 2006, he directed Bhalobasar Onek Naam, casting Uttam Kumar's grandson Gourab Chatterjee and Hemanta Mukherjee's granddaughter, and Moushumi Chatterjee's daughter Megha as lead actors. It was not well received by critics or audiences.
In 2007, he made another feature film, Chander Bari, based on a joint family saga which got critical acclaim from viewers and was a hit. Rituparna Sengupta again was the main lead. Playback singer Babul Supriyo made his debut in this film opposite Rituparna. The songs featured were again composed by Rabindranath Tagore.
His last full-length feature film, Bhalobashar Bari released in 2018. Rituparna Sengupta again played the protagonist in the film. It was a major financial debacle.

## Cinematic sensibility

Majumdar's movies were popular for their enduring characters and evergreen music. His affinity was on literature and Rabindra Sangeet. Tarun Majumdar explains, "I make films based on literature. I differ with directors who in the name of experimentation make non-narrative cinema. To me a film must draw the audience, as the medium for masses. I believe if the film is not commercially successful, it's not 'good', as the audience always go for good movies." Majumdar depicted rural life with warmth and celebrated their way of living. “Majumdar told stories set in rural India with compassion and sophistication which appealed to audiences across sections" said the maker of Feluda: 50 Years of Ray's Detective."To him, nothing mattered more than the Bengali audience. He was never bothered about international film festivals or national award and The negatives of most of Tarun Majumdar's films are destroyed. Film restoration and preservation is not a profitable work but it is indeed needed. So, I urge the government to help in this matter," Said the national award winner filmmaker Goutam Ghose. "Similar sentiments and appealed of Tapan sinha for the restoration of Majumdar's films. He used to watch my plays and share his feedback. He made films on diverse topics and those should be restored for the future generation," said Actor Manoj Mitra.

## In Popular Culture

* An Indian Express which name is Ganadevata Express, this Name of Indian Express is inspiration of Tarun majumdar's movie which Based on noble Prize nominated Tarasankar bandopadhay's Same name novel Ganadevata .
* Head of The Advisory Board at Nandan (Kolkata).
* Chif Patron of Mastul Patrika ( মাস্তূল ) 2012- 2018
* Balika Vadhu TV series in Hindi language and aired on Colors TV. It was between 21 July 2008 and 31 July 2016 with 2,245 episodes.
* Most popular Tv series komola o sriman prithviraj aired on Star jalsa and directed by Lakhan Ghosh and produced by the Acropoliis Entertainment in 2023

## Death

Majumdar died from a heart attack at a hospital in Kolkata on 4 July 2022 at the age of 91. He suffered from chest infection, kidney and heart ailments prior to his death. Tarun Majumder donated his body for promotion of Medical Education to the Anatomy Department of SSKM Hospital, Kolkata.

## Literary works

* He wrote the first book Cinemapara Diye Part -1 & 2.
* Batil Chitranatya
* Nakshi Kantha
* Shapla Shaluker Dinguli

## Awards

| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Padma Shri | 1990 | Contribution to Indian cinema | | Won |
| National Award | 1963 | Best Feature Film in Bengali | Kancher Swargo | Won |
| National Award | 1972 | Best Feature Film in Bengali | Nimantran | Won |
| National Award | 1979 | Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Ganadevata | Won |
| National Award | 1984 | National Film Award for Best Scientific Film | Aranya Aamar | Won |
| National Award | 2004 | Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Alo | Nominated |
| BFJA Award | 1972 | Best Director | Nimantran | Won |
| BFJA Award | 1974 | Best Screenplay | Banpalashir Padabali | Won |
| BFJA Award | 1976 | Best Director | Sansar Simanthey | Won |
| BFJA Award | 1989 | Best Lyricist | Parashmoni | Won |
| BFJA Award | 2004 | Most Outstanding Work of the Year | Alo | Won |
| BFJA Award | 2007 | Best Indian Films | Bhalobasar Onek Naam | Won |
| BFJA Award | 2017 | Lifetime Achievement | | Won |
| Filmfare Awards East | 1967 | Best Film | Balika Bandhu | Won |
| Filmfare Awards East | 1972 | Best film | Nimantran | Won |
| Filmfare Awards East | 1976 | Best Film | Sansar Simante | Won |
| Filmfare Awards East | 1980 | Best Film | Ganadevata | Won |
| Filmfare Awards East | 2021 | Lifetime achievement | | Won |
| Anandalok Puraskar | 2004 | Best Film | Alo | Won |
| International Film Festival of India | 2022 | Special Screening | Nimantran | Nominated |
| Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival | 2018 | Special Screening | Nimantran | Nominated |
| Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival | 2018 | Special Screening | Alo | Nominated |
| Sydney Film Festival | 2016 | Special Screening | Chander Bari | Nominated |
| Kalakar Award | | Lifetime achievement | | Won |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Title | Cast | Note | Ref. |
| Year | Film | TV series | Cast | Note | Ref. |
| 1959 | Chaowa Pawa | | Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Tulsi Chakraborty | Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji) | |
| 1960 | Smriti Tuku Thak | | Suchitra Sen, Asit Baran, Chhabi Biswas | Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji) | |
| 1962 | Kancher Swarga | | Dilip Mukherjee, Anil Chatterjee | Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji) | |
| 1963 | Palatak | | Anup Kumar, Sandhya Roy, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Jahor Roy | Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji) | |
| 1965 | Alor Pipasa | | Pahadi Sanyal, Basanta Choudhury, Sandhya Roy | | |
| 1965 | Ektuku Basa | | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, Jahor Roy | | |
| 1967 | Balika Badhu | | Moushumi Chatterjee | | |
| 1969 | Rahgir | | Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Shashikala | Movie on Hindi Language | |
| 1971 | Nimantran | | Sandhya Roy, Anup Kumar, Kali Banerjee, Pahari Sanyal. | | |
| 1971 | Kuheli | | Biswajit Chatterjee, Debashree Roy, Sandhya Roy, Sumita Sanyal | | |
| 1973 | Shriman Prithviraj | | Ayan Banerjee, Mahua Roychoudhury, Utpal Dutt, Sandhya Roy | | |
| 1974 | Thagini | | Sandhya Roy, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Rabi Ghosh, Chinmoy Roy | | |
| 1974 | Fuleswari | | Sandhya Roy, Samit Bhanja | | |
| 1974 | Jadi Jantem | | Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Supriya Devi | | |
| 1975 | Sansar Simante | | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy | |
| 1975 | Nagar Darpane | | Uttam Kumar, Supriya Devi, Haradhan Banerjee | Credited as Yatrik (along with Sachin Mukherji and Dilip Mukherji) | |
| 1976 | Balika Badhu | | Sachin, Rajni Sharma, Kajri, Asrani, A. K. Hangal | Movie on Hindi Language | |
| 1978 | Ganadevata | | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Sumitra Mukherjee, Madhabi Mukherjee | | |
| 1980 | Dadar Kirti | | Tapas Paul, Mahua Roychoudhury, Sandhya Roy, Anup Kumar | | |
| 1981 | Shahar Theke Dure | | Sandhya Roy, Samit Bhanja, Bhanu Bandopadhyay | | |
| 1982 | Meghmukti | | Utpal Dutt, Biswajit Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Debashree Roy | | |
| 1982 | Khelar Putul | | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy | | |
| 1984 | Amar Geeti | | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy, Biswajit Chatterjee | | |
| 1984 | Aranya Aamar | | | Documentary Feature film | |
| 1985 | Bhalobasa Bhalobasa | | Tapas Paul, Debashree Roy, Utpal Dutt | | |
| 1986 | Pathbhola | | Prosenjit Chatterjee, Tapas Paul, Abhishek Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy | | |
| 1988 | Agaman | | Sandhya Roy, Debashree Roy, Tapas Paul | | |
| 1988 | Parasmoni | | Tapas Paul, Satabdi Roy, Santu Mukhopadhyay | | |
| 1990 | Apan Aamar Apan | | Tapas Paul, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Satabdi Roy | | |
| 1991 | Path O Prasad | | Utpal Dutt, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy | | |
| 1991 | Sajani Go Sajani | | Mahasweta Ray, Utpal Dutt | | |
| 1994 | Katha Chhilo | | Tapas Paul, Mahasweta Ray | | |
| 1994 | Akuha katha | | Uttam Mohanty, Aparajita Mohanty | Movie on Odia Language | |
| 2003 | Alo | | Rituparna Sengupta, Abhishek Chatterjee, Bhaswar Chattopadhyay, Soumili Biswas | | |
| 2004 | | Rangamatir poth | Goutam Halder | Shortfilm | |
| 2005 | | O Amar desher Maati | Bhaswar Chatterjee, Ayan Banerjee | Shortfilm | |
| 2005 | Bhalobasar Onek Naam | | Gourab Chatterjee, Megha Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Moushumi Chatterjee, Tapas Paul | | |
| 2007 | Chander Bari | | Soham Chakraborty, Koel Mallick, Ranjit Mallick, Rituparna Sengupta | | |
| 2010 | | Daak diye jai | Paran Bandopadhyay | Shortfilm | |
| 2014 | | Durgesh Nandini | Paran Bandopadhyay, Tapas Paul, Aatish Bhattacharya | TV Series | |
| 2018 | Bhalobashar Bari | | Silajit, Rituparna Sengupta, Arjun Chakraborty, Sreela Majumdar | | |
| 2018 | Adhikar | | | Documentary Feature Film | |
| 2018 | | Tobu Mone Rekho | Khapang Tripura, Adrija, Aloy Deb Barma | Short Film | |

## Recognition

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed grief over the death of Tarun Majumdar. Nimantran has been restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India. Tarun Majumdar was the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 1990. He got the Lifetime Achievement honor, at the West Bengal Film Journalist Association Awards in 2017.