Dhanraj Tamang

{{Short description|1978 Indian Bengali action film by Pijush Basu}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Dhanraj Tamang

| image = Dhanraj Tamang (1978) poster.jpeg

| alt =

| caption =

| director = Pijush Basu

| producer = Asim Sarkar

| story = Charuchandra Chakraborty

| screenplay = Pijush Basu

{{Infobox | decat = yes | child = yes

| label1 = Dialogues by

| data1 = Pijush Basu

}}

| starring = Uttam Kumar
Sandhya Roy
Utpal Dutt
Anil Chatterjee
Dilip Roy

| music = Shyamal Mitra{{cite web |title=Dhanraj Tamang - Full Cast & Crew |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/dhanraj-tamang/cast/2030326040/}}

| cinematography = Ganesh Ghosh

| editing = Baidyanath Chatterjee

| studio = Usha Films

| distributor = Chandimata Films Pvt. Ltd.{{cite web |title=Dhanraj Tamang |url=https://www.bengalfilmarchive.com/filmography-details.php?t=MTQwOQ==}}

| released = {{Film date|df=y|1978|09|29}}

| runtime = 110 Minutes

| country = India

| language = Bengali

| budget =

}}

Dhanraj Tamang is a 1978 Indian Bengali-language vigilante action film co-written and directed by Pijush Basu.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLkABAAAQBAJ&q=Dhanraj+Tamang+story&pg=PA94|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|last=Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135943189|access-date=1 May 2018}}{{Cite book |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Madhuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NXpDwAAQBAJ&dq=dhanraj+tamang&pg=PP131 |title=Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Cultures |last2=Bakshi |first2=Kaustav |date=2020-06-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-44892-4 |language=en}} Produced by Asim Sarkar under the banner of Usha Films, the film is based on a story by Charuchandra Chakraborty. It stars Uttam Kumar in the titular role, alongside Sandha Roy, Utpal Dutt, Anil Chatterjee, Dilip Roy and Chhaya Devi in lead roles.{{Cite web |title=Dhanraj Tamang {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dhanraj_tamang |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}} Plotted in Simtang tea estate, a faithful worker Dhanraj Tamang, who gets prisoned for discovering the predation of local girls including his wife by his boss, escapes from the jail to take revenge and ultimately goes mad.

Predominantly shot in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar with a sporadic schedule, the film marks the eleventh collaboration between Basu and Kumar, and also the debut of Prosenjit Chatterjee as the assistant director. Music of the film is composed by Shyamal Mitra, with lyrics penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gomolo.com/dhanraj-tamang-movie/14292|title=Dhanraj Tamang|access-date=1 May 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://indiancine.ma/SYF/info|title=Dhanraj Tamang (1978) | publisher=indiancine.ma |access-date=20 March 2019}} Ganesh Ghosh handled its cinematography, while Baidyanath Chatterjee edited the film.

Dhanraj Tamang theatrically released on 29 September 1978, coinciding with Durga Puja. Opening to positive reviews, the film was a blockbuster at the box office and after a number of commercially unsuccessful films, it redefined Kumar's stardom with a long run consisting of 210 days in theatres. The song "Ekti Sudhu Naam Dhanraj Tamang", sung by Hemanta Mukherjee, became very popular among the masses, upon its release. At the 16th Filmfare Awards East, it received the Best Actor award for Kumar.