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{{Short description|Indian actor (1893–1978)}}
{{Short description|Indian actor and director (1893–1978)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name           = Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
| name = Dhirendra Nath Ganguly  
| birth_date     = {{birth date |df=yes|1893|03|26}}
| image = DG1.jpg
| image = Dhirendranath Ganguly.jpg
| imagesize =200px
| years_active   = 1919–1978
| caption =Dhirendra Nath Ganguly in the movie [[Bilat Ferat]] (1921)
| occupation     = Actor, producer, director
| birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1893|03|26}}
| birth_name     =  
| years_active = 1919 - 1978
| birth_place     = [[Kolkata, India]]
| occupation = Actor, Producer, Director
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1978|11|18|1893|03|26}}
| birth_name             =  
| death_place     = Kolkata, India
| birth_place           =[[Kolkata]], [[India]]  
| othername       = Dhiren Ganguly or D.G
| death_date             = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1978|11|18|1893|03|26}}
| spouse          = Premika Devi<br />Uma Devi (Ganguly)
| death_place           =[[Kolkata]], [[India]]
| domesticpartner =  
| othername             =Dhiren Ganguly or D.G  
| website         =  
| spouses              =Premika Devi, Uma Devi
| domesticpartner       =  
| website               =
}}
}}


'''Dhirendra Nath Ganguly''' (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as '''Dhiren Ganguly''' or '''D.G''', was a [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]]-winning and [[Padma Bhushan]] recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali Cinema]]. He had set up a number of film production companies: [[#Indo British Film Company|Indo British Film company]], [[#British Dominion Films|British Dominion Films]], [[#Lotus Film Company|Lotus Film Company]]. Later, he directed films for [[New Theatres]]. He produced many movies in the comedy genre. He was born in [[Calcutta]] and died in the same city.
'''Dhirendra Nath Ganguly''' (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as '''Dhiren Ganguly''' or '''D.G''', was a [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]]-winning and [[Padma Bhushan]] recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali Cinema]]. He had set up a number of film production companies: [[#Indo British Film Company|Indo British Film company]], [[#British Dominion Films|British Dominion Films]], [[#Lotus Film Company|Lotus Film Company]]. Later, he directed films for [[New Theatres]]. He produced many movies in the comedy genre. He was born in [[Calcutta]] and died in the same city.


==Early life and family==
==Early life==
Ganguly studied in the [[Visva Bharati University]] in [[Shantiniketan]]. He became a headmaster of State Art School in [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]]. He released a book of photographs of his make-up techniques called ''Bhavki Abhibyakti'' in 1915. He also taught this art to [[Criminal Investigation Department|C.I.D.]] officers in both [[British India]] and independent India. His family hailed from [[Barisal]].
Ganguly studied in the [[Visva Bharati University]] in [[Shantiniketan]]. He became a headmaster of State Art School in [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]]. He released a book of photographs of his make-up techniques called ''Bhavki Abhibyakti'' in 1915. He also taught this art to [[Criminal Investigation Department|C.I.D.]] officers in both [[British India]] and independent [[India]]. His family hailed from [[Barisal]].
<ref name="arts">{{cite book|author=Vinayak Purohit|title=Arts of Transitional India Twentieth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ae1Zrmz6ETwC&pg=PA951|year=1988|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-86132-138-4|pages=950–51}}</ref> His elder brother Upendranath Ganguly was a restaurant owner who settled in [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]]. Upendranath had married Ambalika Devi, the daughter of renowned Brahmo scholar [[Trailokyanath Sanyal]] and was the father of famous freedom fighter, educator and activist [[Aruna Asaf Ali]].<ref name="G. N. S. Raghavan 1999">{{Cite book | author = G. N. S. Raghavan | title = Aruna Asaf Ali: A Compassionate Radical | publisher = National Book Trust | year = 1999 | isbn = 9788123727622 }}</ref> Upendranath's other daughter [[Purnima Banerjee]] was a member of the [[Constituent Assembly of India]].<ref name="G. N. S. Raghavan 1999"/> Their another brother, Nagendranath, was a university professor who married [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize winner]] [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s only surviving daughter Mira Devi.<ref>{{Cite book | editor = Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson | title = Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1997 | isbn = 0521-59018-3 }}</ref>
&lt;ref name="arts"&gt;pp 950-951, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ae1Zrmz6ETwC&amp;dq=%22Indo+British+Film+company%22&amp;pg=PA951 Google books preview] from 'Arts of Transitional India Twentieth Century', by Vinayak Purohit, ISBN 0-86132-138-3&lt;/ref&gt;


==Career==
==Career==
[[File:Dhirendra Nath Ganguly 2013 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Ganguly on a 2013 stamp of India]]


===Indo British Film Company===
===Indo British Film Company===
Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact of [[J. F. Madan]], who agreed to invest in his films.<ref name="arts"/> Ganguly and [[Madan Theatre]]s' manager Nitish Lahiri formed the '''Indo British Film Co''', the first [[film production]] company owned by [[Bengali people|Bengali]]s, in 1918.<ref name="bfja">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |title=History of Bengali Cinema from BFJA Awards website |access-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924155956/http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |archive-date=24 September 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Bilat Ferat (1921 film)|Bilat Ferat (1921)]]'' (''The England Returned''), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company.<ref name="arts"/> They released another two movies in 1922: ''Yashoda Nandan'' and ''Sadhu Aur Shaitan''.<ref name="bfja"/>
Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact of [[J. F. Madan]], who agreed to invest in his films.&lt;ref name="arts"/&gt; Ganguly and [[Madan Theatre]]s' manager Nitish Lahiri formed the '''Indo British Film Co''', the first [[film production]] company owned by [[Bengali people|Bengali]]s, in 1918.&lt;ref name="bfja"&gt;{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |title=History of Bengali Cinema from BFJA Awards website |access-date=14 May 2008 |archive-date=24 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924155956/http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |url-status=dead }}&lt;/ref&gt; ''[[Bilat Ferat (1921 film)|Bilat Ferat (1921)]]'' (''The England Returned''), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company.&lt;ref name="arts"/&gt; They released another two movies in 1922: ''Yashoda Nandan'' and ''Sadhu Aur Shaitan''.&lt;ref name="bfja"/&gt;


===Lotus Film Company===
===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]]. 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.<ref name="arts"/>
Ganguly founded '''Lotus Film Company''' in Hyderabad and also established a film studio and two cinema houses with the help of [[Nizam]]. In 1924, he was a distributor of ''Razia Begum'', a film made in [[Bombay]]. This film portrayed a Muslim princess who fell in love with an Abyssinian slave . This enraged Nizam and he ordered Ganguly to leave Hyderabad.&lt;ref name="arts"/&gt;


===British Dominion Films===
===British Dominion Films===
Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production company '''British Dominion Films'''. Actor [[Pramathesh Barua]] invested in this venture and also acted in a film produced by this company. However, with the arrival [[talkie]]s and new sound technologies, this film company failed.<ref name="arts"/>
Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production company '''British Dominion Films'''. Actor [[Pramathesh Barua]] invested in this venture and also acted in a film produced by this company. However, with the arrival [[talkie]]s and new sound technologies, this film company failed.&lt;ref name="arts"/&gt;


===Talkies era===
===Talkies era===
Line 40: Line 41:


==Recognition==
==Recognition==
* D.G. received [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1974.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>
* D.G. received [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1974.&lt;ref name="Padma Awards"&gt;{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |accessdate=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archivedate=15 October 2015 |df=dmy }}&lt;/ref&gt;
* He received [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]] in 1975.
* He received the [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]] in 1975.


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}


===Director===
===Director===
Line 102: Line 102:
* Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
* Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
* Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)
* Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)
{{div col end}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Dhirendra Nath Ganguly}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0304358|name=Dhirendranath Ganguly}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0304358|name=Dhirendranath Ganguly}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044539/http://banglafilmsonline.com/ Bangla Films Online]
* [http://www.banglafilmsonline.com Bangla Films Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044539/http://www.banglafilmsonline.com/ |date=13 September 2017 }}


{{Dadasaheb Phalke Award}}
{{Dadasaheb Phalke Award}}
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[[Category:Visva-Bharati University alumni]]
[[Category:Visva-Bharati University alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali film producers]]
[[Category:Bengali film producers]]
[[Category:Film producers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Bengali male actors]]
[[Category:Bengali male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors in Bengali cinema]]
[[Category:Male actors in Bengali cinema]]
Line 128: Line 124:
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Kolkata]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:People from Gournadi Upazila]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Barisal Division]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Filmmakers from Barisal Division]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]
[[Category:Actors from Barisal District]]

Revision as of 21:42, 23 November 2025


Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly in the movie Bilat Ferat (1921)
Born(1893-03-26)26 March 1893
Kolkata, India
Died18 November 1978(1978-11-18) (aged 85)
Kolkata, India
Other namesDhiren Ganguly or D.G
OccupationActor, Producer, Director
Years active1919 - 1978
Spouse(s)Premika Devi, Uma Devi

Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. 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 the 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. officers in both British India and independent India. His family hailed from Barisal. <ref name="arts">pp 950-951, Google books preview from 'Arts of Transitional India Twentieth Century', by Vinayak Purohit, ISBN 0-86132-138-3</ref>

Career

Indo British Film Company

Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact of J. F. Madan, who agreed to invest in his films.<ref name="arts"/> Ganguly and Madan Theatres' manager Nitish Lahiri formed the Indo British Film Co, the first film production company owned by Bengalis, in 1918.<ref name="bfja">"History of Bengali Cinema from BFJA Awards website". Archived from the original on 24 September 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2008.</ref> Bilat Ferat (1921) (The England Returned), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company.<ref name="arts"/> They released another two movies in 1922: Yashoda Nandan and Sadhu Aur Shaitan.<ref name="bfja"/>

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. In 1924, he was a distributor of Razia Begum, a film made in Bombay. This film portrayed a Muslim princess who fell in love with an Abyssinian slave . This enraged Nizam and he ordered Ganguly to leave Hyderabad.<ref name="arts"/>

British Dominion Films

Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production company British Dominion Films. Actor Pramathesh Barua 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.<ref name="arts"/>

Talkies era

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

Recognition

Filmography

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)

References

External links

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