Abhi Bhattacharya


Abhi Bhattacharya was an Indian actor of Hindi and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as Yatrik, Jagriti, Anuradha, Subarnarekha and Amanush 1975. In his four decade long acting career he performed in more than 150 films in Hindi and 21 in Bengali. Abhi Bhattacharya worked with eminent film directors of India such as Ritwik Ghatak, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy and Satyen Bose.Also played the character of Lord Vishnu in Hindi mythological films... and

Early life

Abhi was born in a village close to Rajshahi town of undivided Bengal. He lost his mother at the age of seven. After his father remarried, young Abhi was sent to Gaya (India) to live with his maternal uncle where he spent his formative years. He did well in school and sports. His aunt inculcated in him the love for drama, music and poetry, particularly those of Rabindranath Tagore. Gradually he developed a passion for films. After graduation, he started working at an American air base.

Film career

His film career started when Hiten Chaudhuri asked him to come to Bombay for film related work. While in Bombay he applied for the screen test in response to an advertisement of Bombay Talkies and was selected in the role of hero in "Noukadubi", a film based on a novel by Tagore, directed by Nitin Bose
Bhattacharya subsequently shifted to Calcutta when Birendranath Sircar of New Theatres invited him to act in the double version film Mahaprasthaner Pathey / Yatrik Hindi. Around the same time he acted in the film Ratnadeep , directed by Debaki Bose. Tamil version of the film, Ratna Deepam was released subsequently. In 1950s and in 1960s, Abhi Bhattacharya was quite sought after by the directors and producers of the Bombay film industry and he played opposite heroines like Madhubala, Mala Sinha, Geeta Bali, Madhabi Mukherjee. His other memorable films included Biraj Bahu by Bimal Roy, Jagriti and Parichay by Satyen Bose, Naata by D.N.Madhok, Sailaab (1956) by Guru Dutt, Apradhi Kaun by Asit Sen, Subarnarekha (film) in Bangla by Ritwik Ghatak, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose by Hemen Gupta. He won Filmfare award for his role as the Best Supporting actor in the film Jagriti. He worked with the iconic legendary actor Mahanayak Uttam Kumar in 1975 iconic film Amanush directed and produced by Shakti Samanta.

Religious activism

Later in life, around 1971, he gradually began to focus more on spirituality through his association with Dadaji. Bhattacharya became Dadaji's companion and helped spread his teachings. For about last two decades of his life, whenever Dadaji came to Bombay, Bhattacharya's house at Carter road acted as a rallying point for distinguished people from different walks of life who wanted to meet Dadaji. Abhi Bhattacharya wrote a book, narrating his realisations from experiences with Dadaji, titled Destiny with Dadaji. The book was edited by Ann Mills, who made it public online.

Filmography

Noukadubi Yatrik Biraj Bahu Ratna Deepam Jagriti

Awards