Anil Chatterjee


Anil Chatterjee was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-nineties and is mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted or performed in about 150 movies, including a few in Hindi.

Career

Born at Balagarh, in Hooghly, India, he hailed from Calcutta, West Bengal, India, and graduated from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. Prior to that, he completed his schooling from Delhi, having stood first in entire the North India, in the Senior Cambridge Examinations. In his college days, he became associated with Utpal Dutt and acted in a number of plays. He was also a Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, having won the by-election from the erstwhile Chowringhee Assembly Constituency as a Left Front supported Independent candidate.
Chatterjee played different shades, though mostly as a character actor, as well as in leading roles and at times as an antagonist, despite the limited opportunities he received. Irrespective of the roles, he left an indelible impression on the viewers and the critics. He also acted in the leading role in a tele-serial named Naqab in the national network of Doordarshan. He is one of the very few selected actors who worked with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumdar and Mrinal Sen; with the first three directors, he performed with on more than a number of occasions. His performance in the title role of the film Deshbandhu Chittaranjan won the appreciation of Basanti Devi, the wife of the "Deshbandhu".

Awards