Victor Banerjee
Victor Banerjee | |
---|---|
Born | Calcutta, British India | 15 October 1946
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1977–present |
Spouse(s) | Maya Bhate Banerjee |
Children | Keya Banerjee, Dia Banerjee |
Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in English, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese language films. He has worked for directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Montazur Rahman Akbar and Ram Gopal Varma. He won the National film award for best supporting actor for the film Ghare Baire.
Early life and education[]
Banerjee was born in a Zamindari Bengali Hindu family. He is a descendant of the Raja Bahadur of Chanchal (Malda District) and the Raja of Uttarpara.
Banerjee completed his schooling from St. Edmund's School, Shillong. He did his graduation in English literature from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta; and completed his post graduation in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University.
He turned down a scholarship to Trinity College in Dublin, which had offered to him, through the Irish Christian Brothers, to admit him as an operatic tenor.
Personal life[]
He was the lead tenor in the Calcutta Light Opera Group production of The Desert Song, and also played Jesus in Bombay Theatre's first ever musical production, Godspell.
He has a daughter who is a VFX supervisor.[1]
Film career[]
In 1984, Banerjee portrayed Dr. Aziz Ahmed in David Lean's film of A Passage to India, bringing him to the attention of western audiences.[2] He was nominated for a BAFTA award for the role in 1986, and won the Evening Standard British Film Award and NBR Award (National Board Review, USA) for it. In April 1985, at a special event in Louisiana where John Travolta and Loretta Swit were also honoured, Banerjee received the "Show-a-Rama Award" from the Motion Picture Association of America as "New International Star".
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. On the set of Gunday starring Priyanka Chopra, Mr. Banerjee has said that he feels "all work is a challenge and therefore fun".[3]
Though has been involved with Bollywood in recent years, Banerjee is primarily affiliated with the Bengali film industry. He also plays character roles from time to time in the British cinema.
He was also cast in the critically acclaimed role of "Jesus" in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays, by director Steven Pimlott.
Banerjee is the only person in India who has won the National Award in three categories: As a cinematographer, for his documentary Where No Journeys End (which, in competition with 3100 entries from 27 countries, also won the Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival); as a director, for his documentary The Splendour of Garhwal and Roopkund; and as an actor (Best Supporting Actor) for his work in Satyajit Ray's Ghare Baire.
Filmography[]
- Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977, dir. Satyajit Ray) (English Title: The Chess Players) - Prime Minister
- Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978, dir. James Ivory)
- Dui Prithibi (1980, dir. Piyush Bose)
- Pikoo (1981, dir. Satyajit Ray)
- Kalyug (1981, dir. Shyam Benegal)
- Jaipur Junction (1982)
- Arohan (1982)
- Doosri Dulhan (1983)
- Protidan (1983)
- (1983)
- Ghare Baire (1984, dir. Satyajit Ray) (English Title: The Home and the World)
- A Passage to India (1984, dir. David Lean) - Aziz
- Pratigya (1985)
- Pratikar (1987)
- Ekanta Apan (1987)
- Foreign Body (1986, dir.Ronald Neame)
- Dadah Is Death (1988)
- (1988, Dir. Self)
- Madhuban(1988, Dir. Ajoy Kar)
- (1989)
- Akrosh (1989)
- Byabodhan(1990)
- Lathi (1996, dir.Prabhat Roy)
- Mahaprithibi (1991, dir. Mrinal Sen)
- Bitter Moon (1992, dir. Roman Polanski)
- True Adventures of Christopher Columbus (1992, TV Series)
- Moner Moto Mon (1998, dir. Montazur Rahman Akbar) (aka Raja Rani)
- (2002, Dir. Tathagata Bhattacherjee)
- Bhoot (2003)
- Joggers' Park (2003)
- Bow Barracks Forever (2004, dir. Anjan Dutt)
- Yatna (2005)
- It Was Raining That Night (2005)
- My Brother... Nikhil (2005)
- Amavas (2005)
- Home Delivery (2005)
- Bradford Riots (2006) (TV)
- Ho Sakta Hai (2006)
- The Bong Connection (2006, dir. Anjan Dutt)
- Chaurahen (2007)
- Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007)
- Apne (2007)
- Tahaan (2008) (dir. Santosh Shivan)
- Sarkar Raj (2008) (dir. Ramgopal Verma)
- Sobar Upore Tumi (2009) (dir. F. I. Manik)
- (2010) (dir. Ashoke Viswanathan)
- Gosainbaganer Bhoot (2011) (dir. Nitish Roy)
- Meherjaan (2011) (dir. Rubaiyat Hossain)
- Delhi in a Day (2012) (dir. Prashant Nair)
- Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xhipare (2012) (Assamese film; dir. Bidyut Kotoky)
- Tor Naam (2012)
- Shabdo (2013) (Kaushik Ganguly)
- Kagojer Nouka (2013)
- (2013) (dir. Ashoke Viswanathan)
- Gunday (2014)
- Children of War (2014) (dir. Mrityunjay Devvrat)
- Jeeya Jurir Xubax (2014) (Assamese film; dir. Sanjib Sabhapandit)[4]
- Unfreedom (2014) (dr. Raj Amit Kumar)
- Chakra (2016) (dir. Zubeen Garg)
- Fever (2016)
- Dev Bhoomi (2016) (dir. Goran Pascaljevic)
- Dev Love Express
- Pensando en el
- (2018)
- Sannyasi Deshonayok (2020)
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | National Board of Review Awards | A Passage to India | Best Actor | Won | [5] |
1985 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Actor | Won | ||
1986 | BAFTA Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | [6] | |
1985 | National Film Awards | Ghare Baire | Best Supporting Actor | Won | [7] |
Political career[]
Banerjee unsuccessfully contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election in Calcutta North West from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He got 89,155 votes and stood third.[8]
References[]
- ^ "Victor Banerjee's daughter walks a different road - bollywood news : glamsham.com". www.glamsham.com. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "The return of Victor Banerjee - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "I have a kitchen to run: Victor Banerjee defends his brief role in 'Gunday'". News18. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Pisharoty, Sangeeta Barooah (17 April 2014). "A struggle still". The Hindu. Delhi. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083457/http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1984 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards for 1984]
- ^ "Awards Database: Search our record of winners & nominees, Year of Presentation: 1986, Award: Film". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "32nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "PC: Calcutta North West 1991". Indiavotes.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
External links[]
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Male actors in Bengali cinema
- Indian male film actors
- Male actors from Kolkata
- Male actors from Dehradun
- University of Calcutta alumni
- Male actors in Hindi cinema
- Indian male television actors
- Best Supporting Actor National Film Award winners
- Bengali male television actors
- 20th-century Indian male actors
- 21st-century Indian male actors
- Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal