Victor Banerjee
Encyclopedia
Victor Banerjee (born 15 October 1946) is an India
n actor
who appears in Hindi
, Bengali
and English language
films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television. He has worked for prominent directors like Jerry London, Shyam Benegal
, Satyajit Ray
, Ram Gopal Varma
, Roman Polanski
, James Ivory
, Mrinal Sen
and David Lean
.
Hindu family and is a descendant of Womesh Chandra Banerjee, a leading intellectual, a prominent man of his time and the first president of the Indian National Congress
(1885).
He had his schooling in St. Edmund's, Shillong
, and graduated in English Literature from St. Xavier's College
, Calcutta.
's film of A Passage to India
, bringing him to the attention of Western audiences. Victor was nominated for BAFTA award for this role in 1986. He won two other awards for this role: Evening Standard British Film Award and NBR Award (National Board Review, USA).
He acted in Merchant Ivory Productions
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures
, Satyajit Ray
's Shatranj Ke Khilari
and Ghare Baire
and in Mrinal Sen
's Mahaprithivi.
Though in recent years he has largely been involved with Bollywood
, he is also affiliated with the Bengali
film industry. He also plays 'character actor' roles from time to time in the British cinema. He was also cast in the role of Jesus by director Steven Pimlott
in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays
.
of Landour
in the Lower Western Himalaya in northern India. His wife's name is Maya Banerjee. He has two daughters, Dia and Keya.
He has dabbled from time to time in human rights and labor issues. He helped form the Screen Extras Union of India and campaigned for the rights of Garhwali
farmers. He also campaigned for the creation of Uttarakhand
in a speech entitled "Uttarakhand: A People Denied" and has been credited with starting the movement that eventually led to the creation of the Uttarakhand Solidarity Network
. He has also dabbled in Indian politics, and was once a parliamentary candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) from West Bengal.
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...
n actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who appears in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, 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...
and English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television. He has worked for prominent directors like Jerry London, Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
, 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...
, Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...
, Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
, James Ivory
James Ivory (director)
James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
, 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...
and David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
.
Early life
Banerjee was born to a of BengaliBengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
Hindu family and is a descendant of Womesh Chandra Banerjee, a leading intellectual, a prominent man of his time and the first president of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
(1885).
He had his schooling in St. Edmund's, Shillong
Shillong
-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...
, and graduated in English Literature from St. Xavier's College
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...
, Calcutta.
Career
In 1984, he acted as Dr. Aziz Ahmed in David LeanDavid Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's film of A Passage to India
A Passage to India (film)
A Passage to India is a 1984 drama film written and directed by David Lean. The screenplay is based on the 1924 novel of the same title by E. M. Forster and the 1960 play by Santha Rama Rau that was inspired by the novel....
, bringing him to the attention of Western audiences. Victor was nominated for BAFTA award for this role in 1986. He won two other awards for this role: Evening Standard British Film Award and NBR Award (National Board Review, USA).
He acted in Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions set in India, starring UK great stage actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft....
, 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...
's Shatranj Ke Khilari
Shatranj Ke Khilari
Shatranj Ke Khilari is a 1977 Indian film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Avadh king Wajid Ali Shah, and Richard Attenborough plays the role of General James Outram...
and Ghare Baire
Ghare Baire (film)
Ghare Baire is a 1985 film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based upon the novel Ghare Baire by Rabindranath Tagore. It features Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Jennifer Kendal and Swatilekha Chatterjee, married Sengupta...
and in 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...
's Mahaprithivi.
Though in recent years he has largely been involved with 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...
, he is also affiliated with the Bengali
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...
film industry. He also plays 'character actor' roles from time to time in the British cinema. He was also cast in the role of Jesus by director Steven Pimlott
Steven Pimlott
Steven Charles Pimlott OBE was an English opera and theatre director and actor. An obituary in The Times hailed him as "one of the most versatile and inventive theatre directors of his generation"...
in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays
York Mystery Plays
The York Mystery Plays, more properly called the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English cycle of forty-eight mystery plays, or pageants, which cover sacred history from the creation to the Last Judgement. These were traditionally presented on the feast day of Corpus Christi...
.
Life
When not in Calcutta, he is to be found in the hill stationHill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia , but also in Africa , for towns founded by European colonial rulers as refuges from the summer heat, up where temperatures are cooler...
of Landour
Landour
Landour , a small cantonment town contiguous with Mussoorie, is about from the city of Dehradun in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India. The twin towns of Mussoorie and Landour, together, are a well-known British Raj-era hill station in northern India. Mussoorie-Landour was widely known as...
in the Lower Western Himalaya in northern India. His wife's name is Maya Banerjee. He has two daughters, Dia and Keya.
He has dabbled from time to time in human rights and labor issues. He helped form the Screen Extras Union of India and campaigned for the rights of Garhwali
Garhwal Division
Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...
farmers. He also campaigned for the creation of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
in a speech entitled "Uttarakhand: A People Denied" and has been credited with starting the movement that eventually led to the creation of the Uttarakhand Solidarity Network
Uttarakhand Solidarity Network
The Uttarakhand Solidarity Network , is at once an electronic network of individuals, a working committee, and a group of web sites dedicated to political, economic, environmental, cultural and social justice issues in the Uttarakhand region of India....
. He has also dabbled in Indian politics, and was once a parliamentary candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) from West Bengal.
Filmography
- Dui PrithibiDui PrithibiDui Prithibi is a 1970 classic Bangla movie directed by Piyush Bose. Three famous actors worked together in this movie, which is seldom done in Bengali movie history. Ananda Shankar scored the music of the movie.-External links:* CalcuttaTube...
(1970) (dir. Piyush Bose) - Shatranj Ke KhiladiShatranj Ke KhiladiThe Chess Players is a genre painting of 1876 by American artist Thomas Eakins . It is a small oil on wood panel depicting Eakins' father Benjamin observing a chess match. The two players are Bertrand Gardel , an elderly French teacher, and the somewhat younger George Holmes, a painter...
(1977) (English Title: The Chess Players) (dir. Satyajit Ray) - Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's PicturesHullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's PicturesHullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions set in India, starring UK great stage actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft....
(1978) (dir. James Ivory) - Pikoo (1981) (dir. Satyajit Ray)
- KalyugKalyug (1980 film)Kalyug is a Hindi film made in 1981, and was directed by Shyam Benegal.The film is known as a modern day version of an Indian mythological epic Mahabharat depicted as an archetypal-conflict between rival business houses.-Overview:...
(1981) (dir. Shyam Benegal) - Jaipur Junction (1982)
- ArohanArohan (film)Arohan is 1982 Hindi film by Shyam Benegal, starring Victor Banerjee and Om Puri in the lead roles.-Cast:* Victor Banerjee* Om Puri* Pankaj Kapoor* Noni Ganguly* Sreela Majumdar* Khokha Mukherji* Gita Sen* Rajen Tarafder...
(1982) - Doosri DulhanDoosri DulhanDoosri Dulhan is a 1983 Bollywood film directed by Lekh Tandon. The film centers around a childless couple and a prostitute who is hired as a surrogate mother. The movie was remade years later as Chori Chori Chupke Chupke....
(1983) - Protidan (1983)
- Ghare Baire (1984) (English Title: The Home and the World) (dir. Satyajit Ray)
- A Passage to IndiaA Passage to India (film)A Passage to India is a 1984 drama film written and directed by David Lean. The screenplay is based on the 1924 novel of the same title by E. M. Forster and the 1960 play by Santha Rama Rau that was inspired by the novel....
(1984) (dir. David Lean) - Foreign BodyForeign Body (film)Foreign Body is a 1986 British romantic comedy film directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Victor Banerjee, Warren Mitchell, Denis Quilley, and Amanda Donohoe...
(1986) (dir.Ronald NeameRonald NeameRonald Elwin Neame CBE, BSC was an English film cinematographer, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early career:...
) - Dadah Is DeathDadah is DeathDadah Is Death is a 1988 Australian film based on the executions of Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers in Malaysia in 1986.-Cast:*Julie Christie ... Barbara Barlow*Hugo Weaving ... Geoffrey Chambers*John Polson ... Kevin Barlow...
(1988) - Mahaprithivi (1992)(dir. Mrinal Sen)
- Bitter MoonBitter MoonBitter Moon is a 1992 film starring Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner and Peter Coyote and directed by Roman Polanski. The film is known as in France. The script is inspired by a book with the same name, written by the French author Pascal Bruckner. The score was composed by...
(1992) (dir. Roman Polanski) - True Adventures of Christopher Columbus (1992) (TV Series)
- Antarghaat (2002)
- Bhoot (2003)
- Joggers' Park (2003)
- Bow Barracks ForeverBow Barracks Forever-Plot:Bow Barracks Forever is a film about the disaster of the human spirit. It is not easy to fight back the march of progress. And progress brings with it change-change that is often painful, that breaks continuity, that destroys tradition, history, the power and the passion of communities that...
(2004) - Yatna (2005)
- It Was Raining That Night (2005)
- My Brother... Nikhil (2005)
- Amavas (2005)
- Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar TakHome Delivery: Aapko... Ghar TakHome Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak is a 2005 Bollywood film starring Vivek Oberoi, Ayesha Takia, Mahima Chaudhary, and Boman Irani in the lead roles. The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh in cameos...
(2005) - Ho Sakta Hai (2006)
- Bradford Riots (2006) (TV)
- 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)(dir. Anjan Dutta) - Chaurahen (2007)
- Tara Rum PumTara Rum PumTa Ra Rum Pum Ta Ra Rum Pum Ta Ra Rum Pum (Hindi: ता रा रम पम is a 2007 film that stars Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji in the lead roles. This is the second time the lead pair worked together after the success of their last film, Hum Tum (2004). The film is directed by Siddharth Anand, who directed...
(2007) - ApneApneApne is a 2007 Bollywood film directed by Anil Sharma. This is the first and one of the two films to feature real life father and sons Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol together. Sunny and Bobby have worked together before in Dillagi. Kiron Kher, Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif play the female...
(2007) - TahaanTahaanTahaan - a boy with a grenade is an Indian drama film by Santosh Sivan. The film is based on the life of a young boy and his pet donkey. It is a fable-like journey of the eponymous eight-year-old boy, whose life revolves around the pursuit to find real purpose in his little world. The film stars...
(2008)(dir. Santosh Shivan) - Sarkar Raj (2008)(dir. Ramgopal Verma)
- Blemished LightBlemished LightBlemished Light is an upcoming English/Hindi socio-political drama film in production and set in New York and Delhi. The film deals with issues of identity and violence...
(filming) (dir. Raj Amit KumarRaj Amit KumarRaj Amit Kumar is a filmmaker whose 2011 socio-political drama film Blemished Light is in production. The film is set in New York and Delhi and deals with issues of identity and violence. The title of the film is a transliteration of Faiz Ahmad Faiz poem, "Ye Dagh Dagh Ujala".The film stars Victor...
)