Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Encyclopedia
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (Bangla: শরদিন্দু বন্দোপাধ্যায়) (30 March 1899 – 22 September 1970) was a well known literary figure of Bengal. He was also actively involved with Bengali cinema
as well as Bollywood
. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi
.
He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories
, plays
and screenplays. However, his forte was short stories and novels. He wrote historical fiction
like Kaler Mandira, GourMollar (initially named as Mouri Nodir Teere), Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere (all novels), Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishangni) and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he wrote many songs and poems.
He passed the matriculation examination in 1915 and took admission in Vidyasagar College
, Calcutta
. While studying there, he published his first work, Jaubansmriti, a collection of poems, at the age of 20. In 1919, he passed the B.A. examination. He studied law in Patna
and then devoted his time to writing. The main theme of most of his writings is romance, basically it is the beautiful relationship between a man and a woman.
work appeared in 1932. One of his earliest stories, Raktasandhya, appeared in Bengali
in 1939. It was later included in The Scarlet Dusk (2003), a collection of 5 of his stories translated into English.
He moved to Bombay in 1938 to write screenplays for Bombay Talkies
and other film banners. He gave up ties with the film industry in 1952, and moved to Pune
, to concentrate on writing. He wrote several ghost stories, historical romances and children's stories in Bengali over the next 18 years.
Byomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi is a Satyanneshi ,i.e., inquistor.
, he has direct interactions with ghost
s. In Byomkesh O Baroda, the two characters meet, but the supposed ghost is found to be a rouge man by Byomkesh.
(See also Byomkesh Bakshi
for individual stories featuring this detective)
in 1967 for the novel Tungabhadrar Tirey. The Calcutta University honoured him with the Sarat Smriti Purashkar in 1967 too.
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
as well as Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali Literature. Also, Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only...
.
He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and screenplays. However, his forte was short stories and novels. He wrote historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
like Kaler Mandira, GourMollar (initially named as Mouri Nodir Teere), Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere (all novels), Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishangni) and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he wrote many songs and poems.
Personal life and education
He was born to Tarabhushan and Bijaliprabha Bandyopadhyay.He passed the matriculation examination in 1915 and took admission in Vidyasagar College
Vidyasagar College
Vidyasagar College , named after Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, is a government-sponsored day and evening college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta in Kolkata, India.-Notable alumni:*Jatindra Nath Das*Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar...
, Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. While studying there, he published his first work, Jaubansmriti, a collection of poems, at the age of 20. In 1919, he passed the B.A. examination. He studied law in Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
and then devoted his time to writing. The main theme of most of his writings is romance, basically it is the beautiful relationship between a man and a woman.
Career
The first Byomkesh BakshiByomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali Literature. Also, Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only...
work appeared in 1932. One of his earliest stories, Raktasandhya, appeared in Bengali
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...
in 1939. It was later included in The Scarlet Dusk (2003), a collection of 5 of his stories translated into English.
He moved to Bombay in 1938 to write screenplays for Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies
The Bombay Talkies Limited was a movie studio produced 102 movies, founded in 1934 in Malad, Bombay , India, by Himanshu Rai, Rajnarayan Dube and Devika Rani along with businessmen like F. E...
and other film banners. He gave up ties with the film industry in 1952, and moved to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, to concentrate on writing. He wrote several ghost stories, historical romances and children's stories in Bengali over the next 18 years.
Byomkesh BakshiByomkesh BakshiByomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali Literature. Also, Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only...
[ব্যোমকেশ বক্সী]
Byomkesh Bakshi is a Satyanneshi ,i.e., inquistor. Baroda [বরদা]
Baroda is a ghost-hunter. Like the Mejokorta of Premendra MitraPremendra Mitra
Premendra Mitra was a renowned Bengali poet, novelist, short story writer and film director. He was also an author of Bangla science fiction and thrillers.-Life:...
, he has direct interactions with ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s. In Byomkesh O Baroda, the two characters meet, but the supposed ghost is found to be a rouge man by Byomkesh.
Novels
- Kaler Mandira [কালের মন্দিরা] (1951)
- GaurMallar [গৌড়মল্ললার] (1954)
- Tumi Sandhyar Megh [তুমি সন্ধ্যার মেঘ] (1958)
- Kumarsambhaber Kabi [কুমারসম্ভবের কবি] (1963)
- Tungabhadrar Teere [তুঙ্গভদ্রার তীরে] (1965)
- Jhinder Bondi [ঝিন্দের বন্দী]
- Dadar Kirti [দাদার কীর্তি]
Short stories
- Jatismar [জাতিস্মর] (1933)
- Chuya-Chandan [চুয়া-চন্দন] (1935)
- BishKonya [বিষকন্যা] (1942)
- Sada Prithibi [সাদা পৃথিবী] (1948)
- Emon Dine [এমন দিনে] (1963)
- ShankhaKankan [শঙ্খকঙ্কণ] (1963)
- Kortar Kirti [কর্তার কীর্তি]
- Timingil [তিমিঙ্গিল]
- Protidwondee [প্রতিদ্বন্দী]
- Adim Nrityo [আদিম নৃত্য]
- Kutub Shirshe [কুতুব শীর্ষে]
- Vendeta [ভেনডেটা]
- Mone Mone [মনে মনে]
- Jhi [ঝি]
- Toothbrush [টুথব্রাশ]
- Arob Sagorer Rosikota [আরব সাগরের রসিকতা]
- Premik [প্রেমিক]
- Roopkotha [রূপকথা]
- GronthiRohosyo [গ্রন্থিরহস্য]
- Bhutor Chondrobindu [ভূতোর চন্দ্রবিন্দু]
- SondehoJonok Byapar [সন্দেহজনক ব্যাপার]
- Sekalini [সেকালিনী]
- Asomapto [অসমাপ্ত]
- Mukhos [মুখোস]
- Poriksha [পরীক্ষা]
- Vokti Vajon [ভক্তি ভোজন]
- Bohu Bighnani [বহু বিঘ্নানি]
Collected works
- Sharadindu Omnibus [শরদিন্দু অমনিবাস] (in 12 volumes) (edited by Pratul Chandra Gupta, Bandyopadhyay’s friend and published by the Ananda PublishersAnanda PublishersAnanda Publishers is a large publishing group with headquarters in Kolkata. It publishes numerous Bengali books by many renowned authors. It has one of the largest stalls in the Kolkata Book Fair, and is often awarded a prize for its stall. Ananda Publishers is the division of ABP...
, Kolkata).
(See also Byomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi
Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali Literature. Also, Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only...
for individual stories featuring this detective)
Filmography
As screenplay writer:- Durga [দুর্গা] (1939)
- Kangan (1939)
- Navjeevan (1939)
- Azad (1940)
Bengali
- ChiriyakhanaChiriyakhanaChiriakhana or Chiriyakhana is a 1967 Bengali film by Satyajit Ray. It is a whodunit suspense thriller, starring Uttam Kumar as Byomkesh Bakshi. The title means "The Zoo". The screenplay is by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.- Plot :...
[চিড়িয়াখানা] —Directed by Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit 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...
is based on one of the most intricate detective novels ever written in BengaliBengali languageBengali 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...
. It features supersleuth Byomkesh BakshiByomkesh BakshiByomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali Literature. Also, Bandyopadhyay once said that these stories can be thought as and read as social novels only... - Jhinder Bondi [ঝিন্দের বন্দী] —Directed by Tapan SinhaTapan SinhaTapan Sinha , was a Indian film director. He was arguably the most uncompromising filmmaker outside the orbit of Parallel Cinema.-Personal life and background:...
is based on a recreation of Prisoner of Zenda written by Anthony HopeAnthony HopeSir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
. This novel is categorized as one of Sharadindu's romantic novels. - Dadar KirtiDadar KirtiDadar Kirti is a Bengali comic- romantic cinema starring Tapas Paul, Mahuya Roychoudhury, Ayan Banerjee and Debasree Roy...
[দাদার কীর্তি] —Directed by Tarun MajumdarTarun MajumdarTarun Majumdar is a renowned Bengali Indian film director who makes films in Bengali and is notable for his depiction of Bengali culture and society. Many of his films are literature-based...
. This full-length feature is based on a short-story of the same name. - Meghmukti [মেঘমুক্তি] —Directed by Tarun MajumdarTarun MajumdarTarun Majumdar is a renowned Bengali Indian film director who makes films in Bengali and is notable for his depiction of Bengali culture and society. Many of his films are literature-based...
. This full-length feature is based on a short-story of named Kortar Kirti. - Mogno Mainak [মগ্ন মৈনাক] —Directed by Swapan Ghoshal who also directed the two bengali TV series on the sleuth. The film is featuring several TV actors. TV actor Shuvrajit Dutta is playing Bakshi.
- Adim Ripu [আদিম রিপু] —Directed by Anjan DuttaAnjan DuttaAnjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan . Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western folk music. His lyrics are simple and more natural...
. Abir ChatterjeeAbir ChatterjeeAbir Chatterjee is a popular Bengali film and television actor.He is the son of noted theater personalities Phalguni and Rumki Chatterjee. His father was one of the founders to noted theater group LOKKRISHTI...
plays Byomkesh Bakshi while Saswata ChatterjeeSaswata ChatterjeeSaswata Chatterjee is a Bengali Indian male actor of television and films.-Career:Saswata started his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majumdar’s Kaalpurush. He gained popularity by portraying the character of Topshe in a television series directed by Sandip...
plays Ajit. Swastika MukherjeeSwastika MukherjeeSwastika Mukherjee is a Bengali actress at Tollywood. She is daughter of actor Santu Mukherjee. Mukherjee's first stint with acting was the tele-serial Devdasi. She made her film debut in 2003 with the film Hemanter Pakhi directed by Urmi Chakraborty...
plays Shiuli the bar dancer and Chandan Sen plays arms dealer Batul. Dutta plans to make a trilogy. The series is expected to be followed by the other two stories Chitrachor and Kohen Kobi Kalidas.
Hindi
- Trishagni (1988) is an award-winning film directed by Nabendu GhoshNabendu GhoshNabendu Ghosh was an acclaimed author in Bengali literature. He has written screenplays of various classic Bollywood movies. Amongst others, he is particularly known for his screenplays of Sujata, Bandini, Devdas, Majhli Didi, Abhimaan and Teesri Kasam. He has written stories for movies like Baap...
, based on Sharadindu's historical short story Moru O Sangho.
Awards
Bandyopadhyay was awarded the Rabindra PuraskarRabindra Puraskar
The Rabindra Puraskar or the Rabindra Smriti Puraskar is the highest honorary literary award given in the Indian state of West Bengal. This award is administered by the Government of West Bengal under the aegis of the Paschimbanga Bangla Academy , Kolkata.The award is given for creative...
in 1967 for the novel Tungabhadrar Tirey. The Calcutta University honoured him with the Sarat Smriti Purashkar in 1967 too.