Biswajit (Hindi: बिस्वजित चॅटर्जी, Urdu: بِسوجِت چتّیرجِ, full name Biswajit Deb Chatterjee, Bengali: বিশ্বজিৎ চ্যাটার্জী) is a Bengali/Hindi actor. He was born in Calcutta, West Bengaland later went to Bombay to do some memorable Hindi films.
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After a couple of hit films in Calcutta like Mayamrigo (1960) and Dui Bhai (1961), Biswajit went to Bombay. In 1962, he catapulted to fame with his superhit film, Bees Saal Baad. Even though Shammi Kapoor was the reigning heartthrob of the masses and considered the king of romance in the 60s, Biswajit was a name to reckon with.
He acted in notable films like Mere Sanam (1965), Shehnai (1964), Yeh Raat Phir Naa Ayegi (1966), April Fool (1964), Do Kaliyan (1968), and Sharaarat (1972). He was mostly paired with top actresses like Asha Parekh, Mumtaz, Mala Sinha and Rajshree. His films often had popular soundtracks, causing the films, and Biswajeet, to become even better-known.
Biswajit appeared in Rekha's debut film Anjana Safar (1969) (later re-titled Do Shikaari). Though Anjana Safar was blocked by the censors and not released until 10 years later, a scene from the film which shows him kissing Rekha appeared on the pages of the Asian edition of Life magazine.[1]
In between acting in Bollywood movies, Biswajit kept going back to Calcutta to act in Bengali films, like the superhit Chowringhee (1968) with Uttam Kumar and much later, Srimaan Prithviraj (1973) and Baba Taraknath (1977).
In 1975, Biswajit produced and directed his own film, Kahte Hai Mujhko Raja. He also acted in the film with major stars, such as Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, and Rekha (reteaming with her after Anjana Safar). Because of the star-studded cast and R.D. Burman's music, the film did moderately well at the box office. Later he went back to acting.
Biswajit has been married twice and has three children. He has a son and a daughter by his first wife, Ratna Chatterjee, whom he abandoned for his second wife when his children were very young. His son Prasenjit is a superstar in the Bengali film industry and has been the number one star of Bengali cinema for more than a decade now. His elder daughter, Pallabi Chatterjee, is a lesser known film and television actress. Neither of them have any personal contact with their father and have not appeared in any movie together after Chhotto Jigyasa in which Prasenjit enacted the real life son of Biswajeet as a five year old.
Biswajit lives in Bombay with his second wife and their daughter Shambhavi.