Dhirendra Nath Ganguly | |
|---|---|
 Dhirendra Nath Ganguly in the movieBilat Ferat (1921) | |
| Born | (1893-03-26)26 March 1893 |
| Died | 18 November 1978(1978-11-18) (aged 85) |
| Other names | Dhiren Ganguly or D.G |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Producer, Director |
| Years active | 1919 - 1978 |
| Spouses | Premika Devi, Uma Devi |
Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known asDhiren Ganguly orD.G, was aDadasaheb Phalke Award-winning andPadma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director ofBengali 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 forNew Theatres. He produced many movies in the comedy genre. He was born inCalcutta and died in the same city.
Ganguly studied in theVisva Bharati University inShantiniketan. He became a headmaster of State Art School inHyderabad. He released a book of photographs of his make-up techniques calledBhavki Abhibyakti in 1915. He also taught this art toC.I.D. officers in bothBritish India and independentIndia. His family hailed fromBarisal.[1]
Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact ofJ. F. Madan, who agreed to invest in his films.[1] Ganguly andMadan Theatres' manager Nitish Lahiri formed theIndo British Film Co, the firstfilm production company owned byBengalis, in 1918.[2]Bilat Ferat (1921) (The England Returned), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company.[1] They released another two movies in 1922:Yashoda Nandan andSadhu Aur Shaitan.[2]
Ganguly foundedLotus Film Company in Hyderabad and also established a film studio and two cinema houses with the help ofNizam. In 1924, he was a distributor ofRazia Begum, a film made inBombay. This film portrayed a Muslim princess who fell in love with an Abyssinian slave . This enraged Nizam and he ordered Ganguly to leave Hyderabad.[1]
Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production companyBritish Dominion Films. ActorPramathesh Barua invested in this venture and also acted in a film produced by this company. However, with the arrivaltalkies and new sound technologies, this film company failed.[1]
Ganguly joined Barua Pictures company of Pramathesh Barua. But, soon both of them joinedB. N. Sircar'sNew Theatres.
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