Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 - 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G , was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.The award for a particular year is...

 winning and Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

 recipient film enterpreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema

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...

. He had set up a number of film production companies: Indo British Film company, British Dominion Films, Lotus Film Company. Later, he directed films for New Theatres. He produced many movies in comedy genre. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city.

Early life

Ganguly studied in the Visva Bharati University  in Shantiniketan. He became a headmaster of State Art School in Hyderabad. He released a book of photographs of his make-up techniques called Bhavki Abhibyakti in 1915. He also taught this art to C.I.D.

Criminal Investigation Department

The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...

 officers in both British India and independent 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...

.

Indo British Film Company

Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact of J. F. Madan, who agreed to invest in his films. Ganguly and Madan Theatre

Madan Theatre

Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or in short, Madan Theatres was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema....

s' manager Nitish Lahiri formed the Indo British Film Co, the first film production company owned by Bengali

Bengali 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...

s, in 1918. Bilat Ferat (1921)

Bilat Ferat (1921 film)

Bilat Ferat is a 1921 Bengali silent film directed by N.C. Lahiri and produced by Dhirendra Nath Ganguly. It is one of the earliest Bengali feature film. It is the first Indian feature film having intimate kissing-smooching scenes. It was a silent love-story , which became a great hit...

(The England Returned), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company. They released another two movies in 1922: Yashoda Nandan and Sadhu Aur Shaitan.

Lotus Film Company

Ganguly founded Lotus Film Company in Hyderabad and also established a film studio and two cinema houses with the help of Nizam

Nizam

Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...

. In 1924, he was a distributor of Razia Begum, a film made in Bombay. This film portrayed a Muslim princess who fell in love of a Hindu. This enraged Nizam and he ordered Ganguly to leave Hyderabad.

British Dominion Films

Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production company British Dominion Films. Actor Pramathesh Barua

Pramathesh Barua

Pramathesh Chandra Barua was a famous actor, director, and screenwriter of Indian films in the pre-independence era.-Early life:...

 invested in this venture and also acted in a film produced by this company. However, with the arrival talkies and new sound technologies, this film company failed.

Talkies era

Ganguly joined Barua Pictures company of Pramathesh Barua. But, soon both of them joined B. N. Sircar

B. N. Sircar

B. N. Sircar was an Indian film producer and the Founder of New Theatres Calcutta. He made Bengali films that were noted for introducing many Famous Film Directors. He was awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1970....

's New Theatres.

Recognition

• D.G. received Padma Bhushan
  Padma Bhushan
  The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
  
   in 1974.
• He received Dadasaheb Phalke Award
  Dadasaheb Phalke Award
  The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.The award for a particular year is...
  
   in 1975.

Director

• Cartoon (1949)
• Shesh Nibedan (1948)
• Srinkhal (1947)
• Daabi (1943)
• Ahuti (1941)
• Karmakhali (1940)
• Path-Bhule (1940)
• Abhisarika (1938)
• Achin Priya (1938)
• Hal Bangla (1938)
• Country Girl (1936) (Hindi: Dehati Ladki)
• Dwipantar (1936)
• Bidrohi (1935)
• Excuse Me, Sir (1934)
• Halkatha (1934)
• Mastuto Bhai (1934)
• Night Bird (1934)
• Charitraheen (1931)
• Takay Ki Na Hay (1931) (English title: Money Makes What Not)
• Alik Babu (1930) (English title: Master Liar)
• Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
• Bimata (1923) (Hindi title: Bijoy Basant, English title: Stepmother)
• Chintamani (1923)
• The Marriage Tonic (1923)
• Sati Simantini (1923)
• Vijay and Basanta (1923)
• Yayati (1923)
• Yashoda Nandan (1922) (Hindi title: Shri Radha Krishna)
• Hara Gouri (1922)
• Indrajeet (1922)
• Lady Teacher (1922)

Actor

• Shesh Nibedan (1948)
• Bondita (1945)
• Hal Bangla (1938)
• Excuse Me, Sir (1934)
• Mastuto Bhai (1934)
• Maraner Pare (1931) (English title: After the Death)
• Takay Ki Na Hay (1931) (English title: Money Makes What Not)
• Panchasar (1930) (English title: Blind God / Five Arrows)
• Alik Babu (1930) (English title: Master Liar)
• Shankaracharya (1927) (English title: Renaissance of Hinduism)
• Yashoda Nandan (1922) (Hindi title: Shri Radha Krishna)
• Lady Teacher (1922)
• Sadhu Aur Shaitan (1922)
• Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)

Writer

• Shesh Nibedan (1948) (screenplay)
• Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned) (writer)

Producer

• Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
• Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)

External links