Prosenjit Chatterjee | |
|---|---|
 Prosenjit Chatterjee in 2026 | |
| Born | (1962-09-30)30 September 1962 (age 63) Calcutta,West Bengal, India |
| Other names | Bumba Da, Jyeshthoputro (The Eldest Son), Mr. Industry |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Organization | Nideas Productions |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Pallavi Chatterjee (sister) |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours |
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| Website | www |
| Signature | |
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Prosenjit Chatterjee (pronounced[prosenˈdʒittʃæt̪ːarˈdʒi]; born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playback singer and television personality who works primarily inBengali cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Jyeshthoputro" (Bengali for "The Eldest Son") and "Mr. Industry", throughhis career spanning over four decades, Prosenjit is widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential actors in the history ofIndian cinema. In his cinematic career, he has made over 250 films inBengali,Hindi andOdia, having numerous accolades, including twoNational Film Awards, fiveFilmfare Awards and sixBFJA Awards. He was honoured with Mahanayak Samman in 2013,Banga Bibhushan in 2018 andPadma Shri in 2026.
The son of actorBiswajeet Chatterjee, Prosenjit started his career at the age of 5 inHrishikesh Mukherjee's 1968 Bengali filmChotto Jigyasa, which earned him theBFJA Award for Most Outstanding Work of the Year. After playing a few supporting roles, he progressed to lead role in the romantic dramaDuti Pata (1983). Despite having widespread recognition for his portrayal of an unemployed man inTarun Majumdar'sPathbhola (1986), he reached the height of superstardom with the 1987 blockbusterAmar Sangee. Besides starring in top-grossing romantic films includingChhoto Bou (1988),Jyoti (1988),Aamar Tumi (1989),Amar Prem (1989),Apan Amar Apan (1990),Mandira (1990),Mon Mane Na (1992),Biyer Phool (1996) andMayar Badhon (1997), he had further box-office hits in action films such asOra Charjon (1988),Asha O Bhalobasha (1989),Badnam (1990),Sangharsha (1995),Bhai Amar Bhai (1997) andRanokhetro (1998). He made his directorial debut withPurushottam (1992), which inaugurated the Best Asian Film Award at theBucheon International Fantastic Film Festival,South Korea.[1] His nextSasurbari Zindabad (2000) became the first Bengali film to haveCinemaScope technology, while his portrayal of a volatile police officer inPratibad (2001) was selected byForbes India as one of the 25 greatest acting performances of Indian cinema. During this period, Prosenjit gained critical acclaim for his performances as an alcoholic inDevdas (2002), a medical practitioner inChokher Bali (2003), a disabled person inDosar (2006), a surveillance specialist inAmi, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala (2007), a film director inKhela (2008), a film screener inSwapner Din (2008), a thespian poet inShob Charitro Kalponik (2009), showcasing his versatility as an actor who excelled in both commercially and critically acclaimed films. NotablyDosar earned himNational Award in theSpecial Mention category.
In 2010, Prosenjit transitioned toparallel cinema throughSrijit Mukherji'sAutograph, for which he was nominated atMIAAC Film Festival, under the Best Actor category. His another author-backed performance came inMoner Manush (2010), the biopic ofLalon, a noted spiritual leader, poet and folk singer of the 19th century Bengal. He got wider appeal for his roles of a troubled father in the sports dramaCholo Paltai (2011), a retired police officer in the psychological thrillerBaishe Srabon (2011), a doctor in the political thrillerShanghai (2012), a football coach in the sports dramaLorai (2015), a gangster in the crime dramaZulfiqar (2016), a scientist in the action thrillerOne (2017), a serial killing specialist inDawshom Awbotaar (2023), and a businessman in the thrillerAjogyo (2024), and went to earn further recognition in the psychological dramaJaatishwar (2014), erotic thrillerKhawto (2015), the romantic dramaPraktan (2016), the dramaShankhachil (2016), theNational Award-winning dramasMayurakshi (2017) andJyeshthoputro (2019), the historical courtroom filmGumnaami (2019), the dramaNirontor (2019), the dark-comedyKacher Manush (2022), the romantic thrillerKaberi Antardhan (2023), the dramaShesh Pata (2023), the historical actionerDevi Chowdhurani (2025), with expansion to action-adventures inMishawr Rawhoshyo (2013),Yeti Obhijaan (2017),Kakababur Protyaborton (2021) andVijaynagar'er Hirey (2026), each ranking among thehighest-grossing Bengali films.
Prosenjit lives inKolkata with his wife, actressArpita Pal, and their son Trishanjit.[2]
He was previously married toDebashree Roy and Aparna Guha Thakurta.[3][4][5][6] Prosenjit and Aparna have a daughter together, Prerona Chatterjee.[7][8] In 2015, Prosenjit bought the Bengal Celebrity League cricket teamPurulia Panthers.[9][10][11]
WhenHrishikesh Mukherjee was working on the script ofChotto Jigyasa (1968), collaborating withBiswajeet Chatterjee for the third time, he was apparently impressed by Prosenjit and cast him in the central character of the film.[12] In the film, he played a child who initially struggles to cope with his mother's absence, becoming withdrawn and isolated.[13] Prosenjit won theMost Outstanding Work of the Year Award at the28th BFJA Awards, for his performance in the film at age six.[14][15]
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Chotto Jigyasa's success led Prosenjit to appear as a child artist in two of his father's films: the first was theHindi filmRahgir,[16] directed byTarun Majumdar,[17] and the second was the action thrillerRakta Tilak (1974), which marked his father's directorial debut.[18] In the meanwhile, he continued his education, taking a break from acting.[19]
In 1979, after completing the graduation, he joinedNandikar, one of Bengal's earliest theatre groups, where he used to act for a fee of₹250.[20] His time with the theatre company shaped Prosenjit's craft and ignited his interest in direction,[21][16] whereRudraprasad Sengupta had served as his mentor.[22][21] By this time, his performance was observed byUttam Kumar, who approached him to star in his home-productionDui Prithibi (1980).[23] In the film, he played the younger version of Kumar's character, and also served as the assistant under director Pijush Basu's supervision.[24] During this time, he made brief appearances in some films including a few uncredited roles, such asPankhiraj (1980) andKalankini Kankabati (1981).[23]
In 1981, Prosenjit played a supporting role in Manu Sen's multistarrer comedySubarna Golak, pairing withDebashree Roy for the first time,[25] and became a popular face for playing a negative role inSukhen Das' action filmPratishodh, starring Uttam Kumar andSoumitra Chatterjee.[26] Contemporarily working inStar Theatre as a professional on stage on thursdays, saturdays and sundays for₹500 a month, he got his first lead role inDuti Pata (1983),[27] which emerged as a commercial success and went on to be thesecond highest-grossing Bengali film of 1983.[28] Thematically and stylistically inspired by theArchie comics, the film introduced the genre of teen-age romance with a rich-versus-poor clash as a backdrop toBengali cinema.[29] Though the film ran for over 22-23 weeks, Prosenjit had to go on playing character roles for the next few years.[27] During this period, he played very different roles in films "made by the great masters"; InTapan Sinha'sAtanka (1986),[30][31] he played the role of a book seller, and also got much recognition for his portrayal of an unemployed youth in Tarun Majumder's Western filmPathbhola (1986), co-starringUtpal Dutt,Sandhya Roy,Tapas Paul andAbhishek Chatterjee.[32][33] The same year, he played his firstdual role inPrem Bandhan, which became a moderate success, and had in the second lead in the family dramaBouma, directed bySujit Guha.[34]
In 1987, Prosenjit played negative roles inArpan andMouno Mukhor,[35] and played the lead role alongside Debashree Roy inSamrat O Shundori.[36] The same year, his first breakthrough role came with Sujit Guha's blockbuster musical romanceAmar Sangi,[37][38] alongsideVijayta Pandit.[39] Its success turned him into an overnight sensation,[40] eventually taking top spot at the box office that year and emerging as his biggest up to that point of time.[41] The music byBappi Lahiri also played a significant role as the song "Chirodini Tumi Je Amar" sung byKishore Kumar became a chartbuster, which is still considered as the "love anthem" in Bengal.[42][43][44] The same year, he made a guest appearance in the filmDolon Chapa, also directed by Guha.[45]
Prosenjit's next releases wereProtipokkho (1988) andChannachara (1988), each being moderately successful. That year, actorSamit Bhanja cast him in his directorial debutOra Charjon, a revisionist Western film.[46] He portrayed a man driven to rebellion after his family is killed due to feudal oppression. Although his intense and emotionally resonant performance was praised, despite the film's grim tone, the film did not performed well at the box office, as per its high production values.[47]
He made his debut in Hindi cinema withDavid Dhawan directedAandhiyan (1990).[48][49] Apart from appearing in a series ofmasala films, he started doing middle-of-the-road cinema withChokher Bali which starredAishwarya Rai Bachchan in her debutBengali film and which met with critical and commercial success upon release.[50] He again came back in doingcommercial films and in 2006,[51] he again collaborated withRituparno Ghosh forDosar and received theBest Actor Award andNational Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for his performance in the film.[52][53]
In 2009, Prosenjit did once again collaborate with Ghosh forShob Charitro Kalponik, which starredBipasha Basu in her Bengali debut, won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. In 2010, Prosenjit got another breakthrough by portraying the lead character ofArun Chatterjee in debutantSrijit Mukherji'sAutograph,[54][55] for which he was nominated at MIAAC (Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council) film festival, under the Best Actor category. He portrayed the role ofLalon, a noted spiritual leader, poet and folk singer of Bengal in the 19th century inGoutam Ghose directorialMoner Manush andAnthony Firingee in theNational Film Awards winning film,Jaatishwar. He went to earn further recognition and wider appeal for his roles in the romantic thrillerKhawto, the dramaPraktan, the thrillerTraffic, the dramaShankhachil, the crime filmZulfiqar,[56] theNational Film Award winning dramasMayurakshi andJyeshthoputro, the historical courtroom filmGumnaami, the dramaNirontor, the dark-comedyKacher Manush, the thrillerKaberi Antardhan and have committed to star in theHindi films3 Dev, alongsideKay Kay Menon,Raima Sen,Karan Singh Grover andTabeer alongside Neeraj Kabi.[57]
Chatterjee produced the Ghosh scripted the television seriesGaaner Oparey, which launched the careers of brothersArjun Chakraborty andGaurav Chakraborty andMimi Chakraborty as well.[58] In 2016, he debuted on thenon-fiction category oftelevision with a 97-episode mini-series, titledMahanayak. Produced byShree Venkatesh Films and directed byBirsa Dasgupta, the show starredPaoli Dam,Tanushree Chakraborty andPriyanka Sarkar in other pivotal roles and was based on the life of a superstar of the 60s era — a life fraught with career highs and personal turbulences.[59][60][61][62]
He made his debut as a protagonist withBimal Roy'sDuti Pata (1983), a teenage romance along the lines ofBobby.Amar Sangi (1987) opposite Vijayeta Pandit,Apon Amaar Apon (1990) directed byTarun Majumdar andBuddhadeb Dasgupta'sAmi, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala (2007) are three important films of his career. The song "Chirodini Tumi Je Amar" fromAmar Sangi became a cult hit.Satabdi Roy has acted with him in more than 50 films. He has done 35 films withRachana Banerjee, 50 withRituparna Sengupta, around 16 withIndrani Haldar and four with his wifeArpita Pal. Prosenjit debuted inBollywood in 1990 with theDavid Dhawan directedAandhiyan where he played the role ofMumtaz's son. After working in commercial films, Chatterjee started debuted inParallel Cinema withRituparno Ghosh'sChokher Bali (film) and since then have appeared in numerous art films, includingDosar,Jaatishwar,Shankhachil,Shob Charitro Kalponik. Chatterjee returned toHindi cinema by playing the role of lead protagonist inMehul Kumar directedMeet Mere Man Ke (1991) alongsideAyesha Jhulka,Feroz Khan andSalma Agha. His other Bollywood films areSone Ki Zanjeer,Veerta,Shanghai and more recentlyTraffic which received critical acclaim upon release.[63] One of the most important works of Prosenjit is as Arun Chatterjee inSrijit Mukherji'sAutograph. His first ever produced filmBapi Bari Jaa[64][65] was released on 7 December 2012.
| Year | Title | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 | Gaaner Oparey | Star Jalsha |
| 2011–2012 | Kanakanjali | Zee Bangla |
| 2014 | Tumi Je Aamar[66][67] | |
| 2016 | Mahanayak Uttam Kumar | Star Jalsha |
| 2018–2019 | Shubho Drishti | Colors Bangla |
| 2019 | Aloukik Na Loukik | Star Jalsha |
| 2023–2024 | Alor Kole | Zee Bangla |
| 2024–2025 | Amar Sangee | |
| 2024–2025 | Mittir Bari | |
| 2025 | Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad[68] | StarPlus |
| 2025–2026 | Sriman Bhogoban Das | Zee Bangla Sonar |
Reality Shows
1.Banglar Shera Paribar
2. Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti
The 1987 cult classic 'Amar Sangi', which not only gave the timeless romantic track 'Chirodini tumi je amar', but also introduced an ageless superstar, Prosenjit Chatterjee
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| National | |
| Other | |
