Debaki Bose

{{Infobox person

| name = Debaki Bose

| image = Debaki Bose.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Debaki Kumar Bose

| birth_date = {{birth date text|1898}}

| birth_place = Burdwan

| death_date = {{death year and age|1971|1898}}

| death_place = Calcutta

| nationality =

| other_names =

| alma_mater = Vidyasagar College

| occupation =

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| awards = Padma Shri

}}

Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/people/debaki-kumar-bose-71228|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228163415/https://www.cinestaan.com/people/debaki-kumar-bose-71228|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2018|title=Debaki Kumar Bose movies, filmography, biography and songs - Cinestaan.com|website=Cinestaan|access-date=2018-02-27}} He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Burdwan, Bengal Presidency, British India. He died on 17 November 1971 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is known for his innovative use of sound and music in Indian Cinema. He worked first under the banner of British Dominion Films of Dhiren Ganguly and later with Pramathesh Barua's Barua Pictures and finally he joined New Theatres banner in 1932. He started his own production company, Debaki Productions, in 1945.

Early life

Debaki Bose was son of a successful advocate in Burdwan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2016/nov/17/2946/debaki-bose-mdash-the-first-internationally-honoured-indian-filmmaker|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228163342/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2016/nov/17/2946/debaki-bose-mdash-the-first-internationally-honoured-indian-filmmaker|url-status=live|archive-date=28 February 2018|title=Debaki Bose — The first internationally honoured Indian filmmaker|last=Pandya|first=Sonal|website=Cinestaan|access-date=2018-02-27}} He graduated from Vidyasagar College but left the university.{{cite web | url=https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/debaki-bose | title=Debaki Bose }} Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-co-operation movement, he walked out of an examination and started living on his own. He opened a shop in local market selling towels and he was also an editor of a local weekly named Shakti. Dhiren Ganguly, better known as DG, an established film director from Calcutta, was visiting Burdwan at that time. DG met Debaki and as he came know about Debaki's writing skill, he invited Debaki to come to Calcutta and to write film scripts for him. This culminated into the first film made by British Dominion Films named Kamonar Agun (or Flames of Flesh).{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfjaawards.com/archives/articles/198801.htm |title=An article from BFJA website |access-date=24 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502101907/http://www.bfjaawards.com/archives/articles/198801.htm |archive-date=2 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Career highlights

Debaki Bose was a top Indian film director in his time. During this period, many of the Bengali films made by him were also released in Hindi and even in Marathi and Tamil.
Chandidas (1932), directed by him, contained background music for the first time in Indian Cinema. Raichand Boral, also known as R.C. Boral was the music director.
Seeta (1934), made under the banner of East India Film Company, was the first Indian talkie shown in any international film festival. It was shown in Venice Film Festival, where it won an Honorary Diploma.[http://imdb.com/title/tt0157008/awards IMDb page on awards won by Seeta] He was the 1st Indian director to receive any international award.[http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99apr22/nation.htm News info from TribuneIndia.com]
Sagar Sangamey (1959) was nominated for Golden Bear at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival (1959).[http://imdb.com/title/tt0156987/awards IMDb awards page for Sagar Sangamey] This film got National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 6th National Film Awards ceremony in 1959.{{cite web | url = http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm6thNFAAward.aspx | title = State Awards for Films (6th) | publisher = Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India | pages = 2, 4 | date = 28 April 1959 | access-date = 2 December 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121020054317/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm6thNFAAward.aspx | archive-date = 20 October 2012 | url-status = dead }}
Arghya (1961) was a very special documentary film, produced by the Government of West Bengal on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's birth centennial.[http://imdb.com/title/tt0156298/trivia IMDb page on Arhghya trivia] It was based on four poems of Tagore: Pujarini, Puratan Bhritya, Abhisar and Dui Bigha Jami.
He received Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Film Direction in 1957.
He received Padma Shri in Arts in 1958.
He is one of the greatest film icons to never receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/my-grandmom-was-named-suchitra-by-debaki-bose-riya-114090401172_1.html|title=My Grandmom was named Suchitra by Debaki Bose: Riya|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=4 September 2014|agency=Press Trust of India}}

Filmography

=Director=

Panchasar (1930)
Shadows of the Dead (1931)
Aparadhi (1931) (Hindi Title: Aparadhi Abla, English Title: The Culprit)
Nishir Dak (1932)
Chandidas (1932)
Puran Bhagat (1933) (English title: The Devoted)
Meerabai (1933)
Rajrani Meera (1933)
Dulari Bibi (1933)
Seeta (1934)
Jeevan Natak (1935)
Inquilab (1935)
Sonar Sansar (1936) (Hindi Title: Sunhera Sansar)
Bidyapati (1937) (Hindi Title: Vidyapati)
Sapera (1939) (English Title: The Snake-Charmer, Bengali Title: Sapurey)
Nartaki (1940) (Hindi Title: Nartaki)
Abhinava (1940)
Apna Ghar (1942) (Marathi Title: Apule Ghar)
Shri Ramanuja (1943)
Swarg Se Sundar Desh Hamara (1945)
Meghdoot (1945)
Krishna Leela (1946)
Alakananda (1947)
Chandrashekhar (1947)
Sir Sankarnath (1948)
Kavi (1949)
Ratnadeep (1951) (Tamil title: Ratnadeepam)
Pathik (1953)
Bhagaban Shrikrishna Chaitanya (1953) (Hindi Title: Bhagaban Shrikrishna Chaitanya or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu)
Kavi (1954)
Bhalobasa (1955)
Nabajanma (1956)
Chirakumar Sabha (1956)
Sonar Kathi (1958)
Sagar Sangamey (1959) (English Title: Holy Island)
Arghya (1961)

=Writer=

Flames of Flesh (1930) (screenplay) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
Aparadhi/Aparadhi Abla/The Culprit (1931) (story)
Chandidas (1932) (writer)
Meerabai/Rajrani Meera (1933) (screenplay) (story)
Jeevan Natak (1935) (screenplay) (story)
Inquilab (1935) (screenplay) (story)
Sonar Sansar /Sunehra Sansar (1936) (writer)
Bidyapati (1937) (writer + screenplay)
Sapurey/Sapera (1939) (writer)
Nartaki (1940) (story + screenplay)
Chandrashekhar (1947) (screenplay)
Sagar Sangamey (1959) (English Title: Holy Island)

=Actor=

Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
Panchasar (1930)
Charitraheen (1931)

Awards

2nd Venice International Film Festival :

Won an honorary diploma for Bengali movie Seeta (1934 film)

;National Film Awards

1953: All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film – Bhagavan Sri Krishna Chaitanya{{cite web|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/1st_nff_1954.pdf|title=1st National Film Awards|publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals|access-date=21 August 2011}}
9th Berlin International Film Festival(1959) :

Nominated at Golden Bear for Bangali movie Sagar Sangamey

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0097867}}
[http://www.abasar.net/filmkdebakee.htm A page on Debaki Bose in abasar.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724080759/http://www.abasar.net/filmkdebakee.htm |date=24 July 2008 }} {{in lang|bn}}

Category:1898 births

Category:1971 deaths

Category:Bengali male actors

Category:Male actors in Bengali cinema

Category:Bengali film directors

Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts

Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Category:University of Calcutta alumni

Category:20th-century Indian male actors

Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights

Category:Bengali screenwriters

Category:People from Bardhaman