Mamata Shankar
Encyclopedia
Mamata Shankar is an actress in the Bengali language
film industry of India
. She has acted in films by renowned film directors including, Satyajit Ray
, Mrinal Sen
, Rituparno Ghosh
, Buddhadev Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. In addition to being an actress, she is a dancer and choreographer.
She is the daughter of legendary dancers Uday Shankar
and Amala Shankar, and the niece of Pandit Ravi Shankar
.
and Amala Shankar, her brother was a renowned indo-western fusion musician Ananda Shankar
.
She received her training in dance and choreography at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre', Calcutta under Amala Shankar.
in 1976, directed by Mrinal Sen
. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film
for the year.
Mamata is married to Chandrodoy Ghosh, and runs 'Udayan - Mamta Shankar Dance Company' (founded in 1986, and which travels extensively throughout the world), with the 'Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe'. The troupe was founded in 1978, and performed its first production, based on a Rabindranath Tagore
work, Chandalika, in 1979., it was followed by Horikhela, Aajker Ekalabya, Milap
, Shikaar
, Mother Earth
”, and Amritasyaputra.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
film industry of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She has acted in films by renowned film directors including, Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
, Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
, Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 8 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad.- Early life and background :...
, Buddhadev Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. In addition to being an actress, she is a dancer and choreographer.
She is the daughter of legendary dancers Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...
and Amala Shankar, and the niece of Pandit Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
.
Early life and education
Born in 1955 to Uday ShankarUday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...
and Amala Shankar, her brother was a renowned indo-western fusion musician Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar was a Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar.-Early life:...
.
She received her training in dance and choreography at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre', Calcutta under Amala Shankar.
Career
She made her film debut with MrigayaaMrigayaa
Mrigayaa is an Indian film in Hindi, directed by Mrinal Sen and produced by Kishor Bagri was released in 1976. Kishor currently is working with Balaji Telefilms.The film stars Mithun Chakraborty in his debut film which also won him the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actor...
in 1976, directed by Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film
National Film Award for Best Film
The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards...
for the year.
Mamata is married to Chandrodoy Ghosh, and runs 'Udayan - Mamta Shankar Dance Company' (founded in 1986, and which travels extensively throughout the world), with the 'Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe'. The troupe was founded in 1978, and performed its first production, based on a Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
work, Chandalika, in 1979., it was followed by Horikhela, Aajker Ekalabya, Milap
Milap
Milap is a 1972 Bollywood action film directed by B.R. Ishara . The film stars Shatrughan Sinha and Danny Denzongpa .-Cast:*Shatrughan Sinha ... Ravi / Raju*Reena Roy ... Rani 'Chalava' / Rukmani*Danny Denzongpa ... Raju*Manmohan Krishna ... Judge...
, Shikaar
Shikaar
-Films:*Shikar *Shikaar starring Raj Babbar*Shikkar, 2010 film starring Mohanlal-Other:*A form of hunting in colonial India called shikar*Shikar, a tala *Shikar, a 2003 novel by Jack Warner...
, Mother Earth
Mother Earth
Mother Earth may refer to:*Mother Nature, a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life*Mother Earth , a Slavic deity*Gaia , the Greek mythological goddess personifying the earth...
”, and Amritasyaputra.
Filmography
- MrigayaaMrigayaaMrigayaa is an Indian film in Hindi, directed by Mrinal Sen and produced by Kishor Bagri was released in 1976. Kishor currently is working with Balaji Telefilms.The film stars Mithun Chakraborty in his debut film which also won him the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actor...
aka The Royal Hunt (1976) - Oka Oori KathaOka Oori KathaOka Oori Katha is a 1977 Telugu film directed by Mrinal Sen. It is based on the story Kafan by Munshi Premchand. It is one of the few Art films made in Telugu language.-The plot:...
aka The Marginal Ones aka The Outsiders (1977) - DooratwaDooratwaDooratwa is a 1978 Bengali film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta.-Cast:*Bijon Bhattacharya*Pradip Mukherjee as Mondar*Niranjan Ray*Mamata Shankar as Anjali...
aka Distance (1978) - Ek Din PratidinEk Din PratidinEk Din Pratidin is a 1979 Bengali movie directed by Mrinal Sen. The film stars Mamata Shankar, Gita Sen and Sreela Majumdar, among others...
aka And Quiet Rolls the Dawn aka One Day Like Another (USA) (1979) - KharijKharijKharij, sometimes translated as The Case is Closed, is a 1982 Bengali film by Mrinal Sen. It is based on a novel by Ramapada Chowdhury. It tells the story of a middle class family whose child servant is found dead, and their efforts to pacify his grieving father.-Cast:* Anjan Dutt - Anjan Sen*...
aka The Case Is Closed (1982) - GrihajuddhaGrihajuddhaGrihajuddha is a 1982 Bengali film directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta and starring Sunil Mukherjee. The film was produced under contract from the Government of West Bengal...
aka Crossroads (1982) - Dakhal aka The Occupation (1982)
- GanashatruGanashatruGanashatru is a 1990 Indian film by Satyajit Ray. It is an adaption of Henrik Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People, and was released under that title in the UK. The cast includes Ray's favourite actor Soumitra Chatterjee, and veteran actors such as Dhritiman Chatterjee, Shubhendu Chatterjee, Manoj...
aka An Enemy of the People (1989) - Shakha ProshakhaShakha ProshakhaShakha Proshakha is a 1990 Satyajit Ray film. It deals with four generations of a well-to-do Bengali family, with a focus on the third generation.-Plot:...
aka The Branches of the Tree aka Les Branches de L'arbre (1990) - AgantukAgantukAgantuk is a 1991 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It was Ray's last film, and is based on one of his short stories, Atithi .-Plot summary:...
aka The Stranger aka Le Visiteur (1991) - Sunya Theke Suru aka A Return to Zero (1993)
- SopanSopanSopan was a Hindu bhakti Saint and also younger brother of Sant Dnyaneshwar.Sopan means a new chapter in India, and means polite in Indonesian....
(1994) - UtsabUtsabUtsab is an award-winning Indian Bengali feature film directed by Rituparno Ghosh.-Plot:This movie is a family drama which is portrayed on a background of Durgapuja, West Bengal's biggest "Ut-shob" . The story is about a cultured bengali family, different members of which have gathered in native...
aka The Festival (2000) - The Bong ConnectionThe Bong ConnectionThe Bong Connection is a 2006 Indian movie starring Raima Sen, Shayan Munshi and Parambrata Chatterjee and directed by Anjan Dutta. The movie is based on the lives of Bengalis in the U.S. and Kolkata.-Plot:...
(2006) - Samudra Sakshi (2006)
- Ballyganj Court (2007)
Awards
- National Film AwardsNational Film AwardsThe National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
- 1992: Special Jury AwardNational Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
: AgantukAgantukAgantuk is a 1991 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It was Ray's last film, and is based on one of his short stories, Atithi .-Plot summary:...
- 1992: Special Jury Award