Victor Banerjee
Victor Banerjee | |
|---|---|
,_in_Panaji_(cropped).jpg) Banerjee in 2013 | |
| Born | 15 October 1946 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Maya Bhate Banerjee |
| Children | 2 |
| Honors | Padma Bhushan (2022) |
Victor Banerjee (born 15 October 1946) is an Indian actor who appears in English, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese language films. He has worked with directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and Montazur Rahman Akbar. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Ghare Baire. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2022 for his contribution to cinema by the Indian Government in the field of art.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Banerjee was born in a Zamindari Bengali Hindu brahmin family.
Banerjee completed his schooling from St. Edmund's School, Shillong. He completed his graduation in English literature from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta; Banerjee was a Western Classical Radio Jockey at All India Radio. He then finished his post graduation in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University.
Personal life
[edit]While in Calcutta, Banerjee performed in plays for the British Council, British Women's Association and the theatre group Amateurs. He was the lead tenor in the Calcutta Light Opera Group production of The Desert Song,. During his time in Bombay he performed for the Cambridge Society, director Arun Sachdev and also played Jesus in Bombay Theatre's first ever musical production, Godspell. He also played senior division hockey and football in the Bengal League in the 1960s.
He has a daughter who was a VFX supervisor for 16 years.[3]
Art aficionado
[edit]Banerjee established The Calcutta Art Gallery in the late 1970s which was the first commercial art gallery in the city.[4]
Film career
[edit]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.[5] 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, Banerjee received the "Show-a-Rama Award" from the Motion Picture Association of America as "New International Star."[citation needed]
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, Banerjee has said that he feels "all work is a challenge and therefore fun."[6]
He was also cast in the critically acclaimed role of God in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays, by director Steven Pimlott. He was the first Asian to play a lead role in British Theatre.[7]
In 1991, BBC and CBC of Canada produced a documentary titled Return Journey, directed by John McGreevy. Banerjee, Plácido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa and Jackie Stewart were featured as celebrities who refused to live away from their home countries.
Filmography
[edit]- 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)
- Tanaya (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 Apon (1987)
- Foreign Body (1986, dir. Ronald Neame)
- Dadah Is Death (1988)
- Aagoon (1988, Dir. Self)
- Madhuban(1984, Dir. Ajoy Kar)
- Debota (1989)
- Aakrosh (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) (Indo-Bangladesh joint production; also known as Raja Rani in India)
- Dada Thakur (2001 film)
- Manush keno Beiman (2002)
- Deva (2002 film)
- Antarghaat (2002, Dir. Tathagata Bhattacherjee)
- Bhoot (2003)
- Joggers' Park (2003)
- Bow Barracks Forever (2004, dir. Anjan Dutt)
- Bandhan (2004 film)
- Parinam (2005 film)
- 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)
- Bandhu (2007 film)
- Chaurahen (2007)
- Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007)
- Apne (2007)
- Tahaan (2008) (dir. Santosh Sivan)
- Sarkar Raj (2008) (dir. Ram Gopal Varma)
- Sobar Upore Tumi (2009) (dir. F. I. Manik)
- Gumshuda (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)
- Shantiniketan-e (2013) (dir. Ashoke Viswanathan)
- Gunday (2014)
- Children of War (2014) (dir. Mrityunjay Devvrat)
- Jeeya Jurir Xubax (2014) (Assamese film; dir. Sanjib Sabhapandit)[8]
- Unfreedom (2014) (dr. Raj Amit Kumar)
- Chakra (2016) (dir. Zubeen Garg)
- Fever (2016)
- Dev Bhoomi (2016) (dir. Goran Pascaljevic) Won Best Picture Award at the Bari International Film Festival in Italy
- Love Express (2016) (dir. Rajiv Kumar Biswas)
- Pensando en el
- The Answer (2018). Starred as Paramahansa Yoganand, the film won a record 17 major International Awards & 48 Nominations.
- High Life (2018) (English language film)
- Joseph – Born in Grace (2019) dir Susant Mishra
- Sannyasi Deshonayok (2020)
- Raktabeej (2023)
- Raktabeej 2 (2025)
Awards and nominations
[edit]Civilian Awards
[edit]- 2022 — Padma Bhushan — India's third highest civilian award.[9]
Film awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | BAFTA Awards | A Passage to India | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | [10] |
| 1986 | Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards | Ghare Baire | Best Actor | Won | |
| 1997 | Lathi | Won | |||
| 1985 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | A Passage to India | Best Actor | Won | |
| 1984 | National Board of Review Awards | Best Actor | Won | [11] | |
| 1985 | National Film Awards | Ghare Baire | Best Supporting Actor | Won | [12] |
Political career
[edit]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.[13]
As an active member of the BJP, he was critical of Mulayam Singh Yadav's order to shoot the Karsevaks who had once climbed the Babri Masjid prior to its demolition.[14]
He has been highly critical of what he called Navjot Singh Sidhu's pacifist attitude to terrorism exported from Pakistan.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Padma Awards 2022: Complete list of recipients". mint. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Padma Honours: Victor Banerjee To Receive Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri For Sonu Nigam". NDTV. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Victor Banerjee's daughter walks a different road - bollywood news : glamsham.com". www.glamsham.com. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "Calcutta becomes new vogue-city in business of art, Bengal painters emerge from the shadows". India Today. 15 November 1989. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "The return of Victor Banerjee - Times of India". The Times of India. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "I have a kitchen to run: Victor Banerjee defends his brief role in 'Gunday'". News18. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Schafer, Elizabeth (2019). Theatre and Christianity. London: Macmillan International, Higher Education Red Globe Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-352-00557-8.
- ^ Pisharoty, Sangeeta Barooah (17 April 2014). "A struggle still". The Hindu. Delhi. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ "Padma Awards 2022 List: CDS General Bipin Rawat among recipients; Full List of Padma Awards winners". Jagranjosh.com. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards for 1984
- ^ "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.
- ^ Banerjee, Victor. "A CHRISTENING IN BLOOD". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Victor Banerjee Slams Navjot Singh Sidhu". Business Standard India. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Victor Banerjee at Wikimedia Commons
- Victor Banerjee at IMDb
- 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
- Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
- People associated with Shillong
- People from Shillong