Santosh Dutta

Santosh Dutta

Santosh Dutta in the film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne
Born 2nd February 1925
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Died 8 Feb 1988
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Nationality India Indian
Occupation Actor, Criminal Lawyer[1]
Children Labanya Pramanik[1]

Santosh Dutta (Bengali: সন্তোষ দত্ত) was a Bengali actor, best known for immortalizing the character of Jatayu[2] in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies viz. Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. A lawyer by profession, Dutta will be remembered as one of the greatest comedians Bengali films ever had. Essentially a comedian, he elevated comedy acting to the levels of character roles. Satyajit Ray gave him the first break with a small role in his immortal film Paras Pathar. After Sonar Kella, he became so associated with the role of "Jatayu" that Satyajit Ray later reframed the appearance of Jatayu and started making the sketches of Jatayu resembling Dutta in Feluda novels. After the death of this actor, Ray once remarked that there will be no further movies in the Feluda series as Jatayu cannot be thought of without Santosh Dutta. Though the role of Jatayu was later played by artistes like Anoop Kumar, Rabi Ghosh and Bibhu Bhattacharya, these actors agreed that it was impossible to play the character without the influence of Santosh Dutta in mind.

Apart from playing Jatayu, Dutta played crucial roles in Satyajit Ray's masterpieces for children like Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and Hirak Rajar Deshe. In Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen, Dutta played dual roles of the kings of "Halla" and "Shundi". In Hirak Rajar Deshe, which is a sequel to Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen, Dutta played the role of a mysterious scientist (known as Gobeshok Gobochondro Gyanotirtho Gyanorotno Gyanambudhi Gyanochuramoni), in addition to a small appearance for the same 'King of Shundi'.[3]

Another milestone in Dutta's career was playing Gopal Bhar in the movie of same name, Gopal Bhar being a humorous character known for centuries in India, particularly the state of West Bengal.

The role of Abalakanto in Ogo Bodhu Sundari has also become legendary.

Dutta played important roles in films like Teen Kanya, Paras Pathar, Kapurush O Mahapurush, Streer Patra, Marjina Abdallah, Jana Aranya, Char Murti and Gana Devata. He played the roles of comedians in some commercial theaters. Kone Bibhrat was one of the plays in his later years which was a mega hit. He worked in a TV serial called Goenda Bhagabandas with Rabi Ghosh, another famous actor of his time.

Filmography

Year Film Name Director Genre Role
1958Parash Pathar Satyajit Ray Atanu
1958Headmaster Agragami Actor
1961Teen Kanya Satyajit Ray Actor
1965Mahapurush Satyajit Ray Professor Nandi/Nani
1968Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne Satyajit Ray King of Shundi
1973Marjina Abdulla Dinen Gupta Ali Baba
1973Shriman Prithviraj Tarun Majumdar Nobin Master
1974Jadu Bansha Partha Prathim Choudhury Actor
1974Sonar Kella Satyajit Ray Lalmohan Ganguli/Jatayu
1976Jana Aranya Satyajit Ray Hiralal Saha
1976Asadharan Salil Sen Actor
1977Ei Prithibir Panthanibas Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1977Shesh Raksha Shankar Bhattacharya Actor
1977Sister Pijush Bose Actor
1977Joi Baba Felunath Satyajit Ray Lalmohan Ganguli/Jatayu
1978Charmurti Umanath Bhattacharya Pisemoshai
1979Ghatkali Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1979Brajabuli Pijush Bose Actor
1980Abhi Apurba Kumar Mitra Actor
1980Hirak Rajar Deshe Satyajit Ray King of Shundi/Scientist in Hirak Raj
1980Sandhi Amal Dutta Actor
1980Paka Dekha Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1980Gopal Bhanar Amal Sur Actor
1981Subarnalata Bijoy Bose Actor
1981Ogo Bodhu Shundori Salil Dutta Abolakanta
1982Khelar Putul Tarun Majumdar Actor
1982Malancha Purnendu Pattrea Actor
1982Rasamoyeer Rasikata Amal Sur Actor
1983Kauke Bolo Na Vishwanath Mukherjee Actor
1983Duti Pata Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1983Srinkhal Abir Basu Actor
1984Pujarini Partha Prathim Choudhury Actor
1984Shilalipi Palash Bannerjee Actor
1984Rajeswari Salil Dutta Actor
1984Sorgol Biswajit Actor
1984Lolita Tapan Choudhury Actor
1984Amar Geeti Tarun Majumdar Actor
1984Joy Parajoy Chandan Mukherjee Actor
1985Nishante Narayan Chakraborty Actor
1985Hulusthul Aravind Mukherjee Actor
1985Baikunther Will Sushil Mukherjee Actor
1985Aamar Prithibi Bimal Bhowmick Actor
1986Dui Adhyay Goutam Mukhopadhyay Actor
1986Urbashe Salil Dutta Actor
1987Abir Kamal Majumdar Actor
1987Samrat-O-Sundari Bimal Roy Jr. Actor
1988Agni Sanket Swarup Dutta Actor
1989Gili Gili Gay Ishwar Chakraborty Actor
1991Palataka Saran Dey Actor

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Baba never got his due: Santosh Dutta". Dec 22, 2010, 12.00am IST. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  2. Andrew Robinson (1989). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press. pp. 360–. ISBN 978-0-520-06946-6. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  3. Satyajit Ray; Bert Cardullo (1 March 2007). Satyajit Ray: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-1-57806-937-8. Retrieved 21 July 2012.

External links