Mohit Chattopadhyay
Encyclopedia
Mohit Chattopadhyaya is a famous Bengali Indian Playwright, screenplay writer, dramatist & poet. He was born on 1 June 1934, in the town of Barisal, now in Bangladesh
. He is a leading figure in modern Indian drama.
(Kolkata) with his family at the age of thirteen. An avid reader, he started writing as a young boy of class seven. In Kolkata, he was a frequent visitor of Chaitanya Library, near his home at Bidon Street. In the library he stumbled upon the book “Six Characters In Search Of An Author”
by Lui Pirendello
, his first contact with an absurd play
. He finished his Matriculation examination in 1950 and joined City College, Kolkata
. While studying in City College he became close to culturally likeminded people, who became prominent poets, authors, artists in their later lives. He became close friend with Sunil Gongopadhyay
, Shibshmbhu Pal, Soumitra Chatterjee
, Sandeepan Chatterjee, Shakti Chattopadhay
. He earned his Masters in Bengali Literature as a private candidate from University Of Calcutta
. His career in academia began as a lecturer at Jangipur College, Murshidabad
and later as a Reader of Bengali Literature at City College.
Subsequently he stopped writing poems and devoted entirely to writing plays. From the very beginning he avoided writing realistic plays and wrote esoteric often highly political plays. Though he refused to be labeled as an Absurdist playwright, claiming his plays do not conform to the Philosophy of “The Theatre of the Absurd”
but frequently he is referred as an exponent of Indian Absurd Drama. The cryptic nature of his plays encouraged critics to call his plays “Kimitibadi” (Kim+Iti) in Bengali, which in English meant, “What is it?”
As a prolific playwright he has written over one hundred plays. Some of his plays have been translated in different languages and have been regularly performed by various theater groups around India. Other than full length plays, Mohit Chattopadhyaya has written One Act plays, Verse plays Curtain Raisers, Microplays; he has adapted, edited and translated a number of plays in Bengali from other languages.
His play Raajrakto (Guinea pig) is considered as a milestone in the history of Bengali political drama. Kolkata based theatre group Theatre Workshop under the direction of Bibhash Chokrobarty first performed the play in Kolkata. Later the play was translated into various languages. In Delhi Rajindernath directed the Hindi version. Famous actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda
acted in the play. In Mumbai, Satyadeb Dubey directed the play and Amrish Puri
acted in it. Amol Palekar
acted in the Marathi version and Shymanand Jalan produced another Hindi version of the play. For political reasons the production was banned by The Indian Government.
Poroshuraam (1980), Oka Uri Katha (1977), Genesis (1986); all the films received numerous awards in national and International film festivals. In 1997 he wrote the screenplay and the lyrics of the film, Damu, which received National Award for best children's film & various other awards.
In 1980 Mohit Chattopadhyaya finished his first and only directorial endeavor, Megher Khela (The Play of The Clouds), a children’s film. He wrote the story and the screenplay. Raja Sen
, who would become an accomplished film director later, was the assistant director; Ranajit Ray was the Cinematographer; Debashish Dasgupta was the Music Director and Mrinmoy Chakrobarty was in charge of editing. The film received critical acclaim. It was shown in various national and international film festivals and got honorary mention at Bucharest Children’s Film Festival. Austrian National Television bought the film rights and telecast it in its National Channel.
Mohit Chattopadhyaya started writing scripts for TV serial (TV Series) in the following years. Raja Sen directed almost all his early TV scripts. Subarnolata, Arogyonikatan, Adorsho Hindu Hotel marked one of the most popular and critically acclaimed television serials on Kolkata Doordarshan
. He continued writing scripts and worked with other directors in later period.
Award, West Bengal State Award, BFJA Award, Nandikaar
Award.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. He is a leading figure in modern Indian drama.
Early life
Mohit Chattopadhyaya left Bangladesh and immigrated to CalcuttaKolkata
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...
(Kolkata) with his family at the age of thirteen. An avid reader, he started writing as a young boy of class seven. In Kolkata, he was a frequent visitor of Chaitanya Library, near his home at Bidon Street. In the library he stumbled upon the book “Six Characters In Search Of An Author”
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
by Lui Pirendello
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
, his first contact with an absurd play
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
. He finished his Matriculation examination in 1950 and joined City College, Kolkata
City College, Kolkata
City College is a constituent undergraduate college of the University of Calcutta. Established in 1881, it is one of the heritage institutions of Calcutta which played a prominent social role in the wake of the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth century. The college is located at 102/1, Raja...
. While studying in City College he became close to culturally likeminded people, who became prominent poets, authors, artists in their later lives. He became close friend with Sunil Gongopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay , is a celebrated Indian poet and novelist.-Early life:...
, Shibshmbhu Pal, Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an iconic Bengali actor from India, known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.-Background:Soumitra graduated from...
, Sandeepan Chatterjee, Shakti Chattopadhay
Shakti Chattopadhyay
Shakti Chattopadhay was a Bengali poet and writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest poet of 20th century Bengali literature. -External links:...
. He earned his Masters in Bengali Literature as a private candidate from University Of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
. His career in academia began as a lecturer at Jangipur College, Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
and later as a Reader of Bengali Literature at City College.
Literary Work
Mohit Chattopadhyaya started his literary career as a poet and later shifted to writing plays. He started writing prose poetry along with his friends, and had little interest in rhyming. At first his poetry was published in various magazines and shortly it was published in book format as his anthology of poems.Subsequently he stopped writing poems and devoted entirely to writing plays. From the very beginning he avoided writing realistic plays and wrote esoteric often highly political plays. Though he refused to be labeled as an Absurdist playwright, claiming his plays do not conform to the Philosophy of “The Theatre of the Absurd”
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
but frequently he is referred as an exponent of Indian Absurd Drama. The cryptic nature of his plays encouraged critics to call his plays “Kimitibadi” (Kim+Iti) in Bengali, which in English meant, “What is it?”
As a prolific playwright he has written over one hundred plays. Some of his plays have been translated in different languages and have been regularly performed by various theater groups around India. Other than full length plays, Mohit Chattopadhyaya has written One Act plays, Verse plays Curtain Raisers, Microplays; he has adapted, edited and translated a number of plays in Bengali from other languages.
His play Raajrakto (Guinea pig) is considered as a milestone in the history of Bengali political drama. Kolkata based theatre group Theatre Workshop under the direction of Bibhash Chokrobarty first performed the play in Kolkata. Later the play was translated into various languages. In Delhi Rajindernath directed the Hindi version. Famous actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda is an Indian actor, who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films, and is known as character Shakaal in Shaan inspired by the character of Blofeld from James Bond movies...
acted in the play. In Mumbai, Satyadeb Dubey directed the play and Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
acted in it. Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director of Hindi and Marathi cinema.-Theater career:Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972 [citation needed]...
acted in the Marathi version and Shymanand Jalan produced another Hindi version of the play. For political reasons the production was banned by The Indian Government.
Film Scripts & Television Scripts
In 1973 Mohit Chattopadhyaya started working on the film script of Chorus in close collaboration with Mrinal Sen. He also wrote the lyrics of the songs used in the film. In the following years he wrote the screenplays of four films by Mrinal Sen, Mrigaya (1976)Poroshuraam (1980), Oka Uri Katha (1977), Genesis (1986); all the films received numerous awards in national and International film festivals. In 1997 he wrote the screenplay and the lyrics of the film, Damu, which received National Award for best children's film & various other awards.
In 1980 Mohit Chattopadhyaya finished his first and only directorial endeavor, Megher Khela (The Play of The Clouds), a children’s film. He wrote the story and the screenplay. Raja Sen
Raja Sen
Raja Sen is an Indian film and television director, and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India.-Career:...
, who would become an accomplished film director later, was the assistant director; Ranajit Ray was the Cinematographer; Debashish Dasgupta was the Music Director and Mrinmoy Chakrobarty was in charge of editing. The film received critical acclaim. It was shown in various national and international film festivals and got honorary mention at Bucharest Children’s Film Festival. Austrian National Television bought the film rights and telecast it in its National Channel.
Mohit Chattopadhyaya started writing scripts for TV serial (TV Series) in the following years. Raja Sen directed almost all his early TV scripts. Subarnolata, Arogyonikatan, Adorsho Hindu Hotel marked one of the most popular and critically acclaimed television serials on Kolkata Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
. He continued writing scripts and worked with other directors in later period.
Other work
Mohit Chattopadhyay has also written numerous essays, articles and papers on theater, film production, and scriptwriting. One of his most controversial series of essays has been on the relationship between literature and drama. He has taken part in various seminars, talks, workshops and panel discussions on literature & performing arts. He is also the Executive Member of Paschimbanga Natya Academy.Honors & Awards
The recipient of scores of awards and felicitations, Mohit Chattopadhyay received the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1991. Among other awards he is the recipient of GirishGirish Chandra Ghosh
Girish Chandra Ghosh was a Bengali musician, poet, playwright, novelist, theatre director and actor. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre. He can be referred to as the Father of Bengali Theatre...
Award, West Bengal State Award, BFJA Award, Nandikaar
Nandikar
Nandikar is a theatre group in India. The group has its headquarters in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, but works around the world.__FORCETOC__-History:...
Award.
Plays
- Kantha Nalite Surjo 1963
- Neel Ranger Ghora 1964
- MrityuSambad 1969
- Cheler Dol
- Gandho Rajer Hattali 1965
- Metamorphosis 1965
- Chondroloke Ognikando 1966
- Dwiper Raja 1968
- Singhasoner Khoyrog 1967
- Nishad 1968
- Pushpok Rath 1968
- Will Shakespeare 1969
- BaghBondi 1969
- Captain Hurrah 1970
- RaajRakto/ Guniepig 1974
- Mrichhokatik 1990
- Mahakalir Baachha 1977
- Swadeshi Naksha 1985
- Galileo-r Jwibon 1981
- Kanamaachi Khela 1983
- Bhoot 1983
- Aalibaba 1985
- Totaraam 1990
- Socrates 1989
- Nonaajwal 1990
- Baman 1987
- Sundor 1998
- Jochonakumari 1991
- Shamibrikha 1990
- Takhan Bikel 1992
- Lobhendra Gobendra 1990
- Guhachitra 1993
- Gojanan Charit Manas 1993
- Mushthijog 1994
- Janmodin 1999
- Octopus Limited 1997
- Kaal Ba Porshu 1997
- Bipanno Bismoy 1998
- Swidhidata 1999
- Harun Ul Rashid 1999
- Tushagni 2000
- Jambo 2001
- Mr. Right 2003
- Kaaler Jatra 2004
- Mrs. Soriano 2004
- Ghoom/ Ei Ghoom 2003
- Ring 1965
- Bairer Dwarjaa 1965
- Brittyo 1968
- Baajpaakhi 1969
- Sonaar Chaabi 1973
- Laathi 1977
- Maachi 1978
- Phoenix 1984
- Raakhos
- Bornobiporjoy
- Juto 2003
- Dwarpon
- Taattoo
- Venice-er Bonik 2004
- Daaho 2007
Film
- Megher Khelaa (direction, Screenplay) 1980 [Awarded in Bucharest Children’s Film Festival, Shown in Austria National Television]
- Chorus (Co scripted with Mrinal Sen, Lyrics) [1974]
- Mrigaya (Co scripted with Mrinal Sen) [1976]
- Poroshuraam (Story & Co scripted with Mrinal Sen) [1980]
- Oka Uri Katha (Co scripted with Mrinal Sen) [1977]
- Genesis (Co scripted with Mrinal Sen) [1986]
- Damu (Screenplay & Lyrics) [1997]
Television Series (Tele-serials)
- Subranalata (Screenplay) (1987)
- Adarsha Hindu Hotel (Screenplay) (1989)
- Arogya Niketan (Screenplay) (1993)
- Bankim Sahitye Naari (screenplay) (1989)
- Headmaster (Screenplay)
- Anjuman (Screenplay) (1996)
- Tarashankarer Chhoto Galpo (Screenplay) (1991)
- Streeyascharitram (Screenplay)
- Jal Pade Apta Nade (Screen Play) (1994)
- Hansuli Banker Upokatha (Screen Play)
- Chena Achena (Screenplay)
Documentary Scripts
- Itihasher Kolkata
- Suchitra Mitra (1993) [National Award for the best film in the Art and Cultural Section]
Poetry
- Ashare Srabon (1956)
- Golaaper Birudhe Joodhyo (1961)
- Shobadhare Jyotsna (1965)
- Onkon Shikhya (1969)
- Bhalobasha Bhalobasha (1993)
- Kobita Sangroho (1993)