Dhirendranath Ganguly, more known as the father of Bengali cinema, was an institution in himself. He not only innovated three of the early product houses Indo- British Film Company, British Dominion flicks and Lotus Film Company but also produced and acted in presumably the first silent comedy film Bilat Ferat( 1921), directed by Nitish Lahiri.
As the youthful man chose his path in the world of celluloid, he was scorned by his largely educated family for pursuing flicks as a career. still, he went to Santiniketan and studied under the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore, developing the fine sensibilities that ultimately led him to change the course of Bengali cinema.
If we talk India's first Bengali directors so, one of Hiralal Sen, India is credited as one of Bengal's, and India's first directors.
" In 1921, the first formalNon-Cooperation Movement broke out and the same time Ganguly took the action to sport the Desi Saheb, who used to speak, write and conjure in English, had no contact with original people and tradition, and would open the marquee in Mumbai if it rained in Manchestar. Bilat Ferat was basically a donation to theanti-colonial converse that was gradationally forming during that time. ”
Indo- British Film Company produced two further flicks in 1922, Sadhu Aur Shaitan and Yashoda Nandan.
Ganguly also moved to Hyderabad in 1926 and came art educator at the nizam’s art council. The nizam ultimately helped him form the Lotus Film Company and Ganguly produced Razia Begum, directed by Bhagwati Prasad Mishra in Bombay( now Mumbai). The film depicted the love between Razia Sultan and her Hindu nut and incurred the wrath of the nizam. Soon, due to the difficulties, Ganguly was ordered to leave Hyderabad.
“ Producing Razia Begum was a significant social event. With the film, Ganguly introduced the notion of temporal romantic love on screen. Before that no similar attempt was made. thus, it can be said that the social value of the temporal tale overshadows the story value of the film. In 1930, he also produced dears Of Meat or Kamonar Agun, the foremost precursor of Bhansali’s Padmaavat( 2018), grounded on the literal tale of Alauddin Khliji and Rani Padmavati, ” noted Mukhopadhyay.
“ As Ganguly came back to Kolkata and continued to produce and direct flicks from his new product house British Dominion flicks and, latterly, with New Theatres, he made it a point to fulfil a social commitment and add an civic complication in his workshop, ” he added.
Ganguly was also necessary in bringing Debaki Kumar Bose, who ultimately directed dears Of Flesh, to the film assiduity. Bose was originally an active party in the Swadeshi movement and used to vend Swadeshi products. Ganguly gauged that Bose could profit the film assiduity and their collaboration began.
Ganguly had deep perceptivity regarding on- screen performances. “ He used to sketch facial gestures in a tablet before getting on with his performance. As a pupil of Santiniketan, Ganguly perceived the face as a mask. For illustration, for ridiculous performances, he'd independently draw the facial expressions of smiling, mocking and laughing in his tablet, ” said Mukhopadhyay.
Ganguly’s career gauged three decades and he made 49 flicks, substantially grounded on the political developments in the country. Unfortunately, moment clones of utmost of his flicks don't live, except for a talkie made by Kalpana Lajmi, named DG Pioneer( 1979).
His son Monica Basu Thakurta, who acted in Path Bhule( 1940) and Dabi( 1943) opposite her father as a child artiste, wrote a book named DG and Bengali flicks. According to her, Ganguly was facetious and had a knack for dressing up. He loved the art of disguise and frequently dressed up as a woman to display his make- up chops.
Bose and Pramathesh Barua would not be induced that make- up could entirely conceal one’s identity. To prove them wrong, Ganguly would sit outside their plant in Kolkata for days, dressed as a beggar. “ For days neither the guard nor Barua or Bose could fete Ganguly. ultimately, they were forced to admit their error in judgement, ” Thakurta told the Indian Express, a daily, in an interview.
In 1974, Ganguly entered the Padma Bhushan and in 1975 he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his enormous donation to Indian cinema.