Diptendu Pramanick

Diptendu Pramanick
Born	July 18, 1910 Calcutta
Died	December 15, 1989 Kolkata
Residence	New Alipore, Kolkata
Ethnicity	Bengali
Home town	Shantipur
Children	Subrata Pramanick & Eva Kundu
Parents	Swarnabala & Sudhamoy Pramanick

Diptendu Pramanick (July 1910 – Dec 1989) (Bengali: দীপ্তেন্দু প্রামাণিক) was a bengali film personality from Calcutta. He was the founder secretary of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association ^[1] in Calcutta, India - a fraternity of film personnel which is an interface between the entertainment industry of eastern India and the Government. During his multifarious career he came in contact with eminent personalities and saw the evolution of this organization from its initial days to being a regionwide entity.

Early life and education

He was born on July 18, 1910 in Calcutta. He was the eldest son of Sudhamoy Pramanick from Shantipur. He did his early schooling in Calcutta and then at the Raiganj Coronation School, Raiganj where his father practised as a lawyer.

In 1926 he returned to Calcutta and cleared Matriculation followed by the Intermediate examinations in Science in 1928. He then joined the Scottish Church College, Calcutta.

His interactions with many a revolutionary (due to his father's involvement with the Congress and the Satyagraha movement at Raigunj), the explosive air of the times, and the inspiration from a famous alumni (The Oaten Affair) ^[2] probably drove him to antagonize an Indian-loathing teacher at Scottish Church College, and follow Bose's suit.

He later graduated from Asutosh College, and earned a bachelor's degree in science from the University of Calcutta in 1931.

Career

After leaving college he worked as the Secretary to the then Mayor of Calcutta Sri Santosh Kumar Basu.^[3] Out of his literary inclinations, he associated with literary conferences and Bengali literature fora.^[4] The 12th Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan was inaugurated by Rabindranath Tagore in Calcutta, Dec 1934 (Photo : The Reception Committee was chaired by Ramananda Chatterjee).

On completion of Mr Basu’s term as Mayor he became the Liaison Officer of Civil Defense and in the Publicity Section of the Commercial Museum. In 1942 he moved to the Home Department of the then Bengal Government as Liaison Officer, Civil Defense.

Subsequently he tested his skills of entrepreneurship through a venture (Cine Furnishers Limited) with a couple of friends . It is here that he came in close contact with people of the Bengali film industry of Kolkata.

Enthused with these contacts he joined an association of Producers, Distributors and Exhibitors of Bengal (Bengal Motion Pictures Association) in 1948 as Secretary ^[5] while Sri B. N. Sircar was the President. Next year he started the BMPA journal^[6][7] and was the Editor ^[8][9][10] for more than two decades.^[11][12] The Association was working on a rented premises at 125, Dharamtolla Street (now Lenin Sarani) which was moved to 2, Madan Street, Calcutta. Later the association bought a small premises at 98E Chowringhee Square (now 98E B.N. Sircar Sarani - it's present location ).
He was the first secretary of the then expanded Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA) and was instrumental in opening the EIMPA offices in Patna and Guwahati.^[13] During his tenure he also served as the Secretary of Film Federation of India (1953–1954) ^[14] and the Jt. Treasurer of the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) (1959) presided by Satyajit Ray.^[15]

First International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 1952

With Frank Capra in 1952, Diptendu Pramanick - 2nd from left

The Films Division of the Government of India sponsored and organized the First International Film Festival of India in 1952. BMPA played a pivotal role in organizing the festival in Calcutta. Frank Capra, the famous American director flew in ^[16] and was overwhelmed by the reception he got at Calcutta after visiting Bombay and Delhi. In his autobiography he wrote

“	.. Was deluged with garlands ... Bengali people are quite different from the rest of India. They are like the Irish, emotional, sentimental. All riots and revolutions start in Bengal. I can understand it. It took me an hour to leave the airport, what with the crowds and the photographers...	”
—Frank Capra, The name above the title - an Autobiography [17]

Here he is seen at the Dum Dum Airport with the who's who of Calcutta Filmdom.

First Film Seminar, 1955

Sangeet Natak Akademi convened the first film seminar at Delhi and it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.^[18] Prominent film personality attended this seminar ^[19]

Invitation to meet the President - Dr Rajendra Prasad at his residence

Invitation from the Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru to meet at his residence

Legacy

Children from many underprivileged families of Dahuka, a remote village in Bardhaman district, receive school books from the Diptendu Pramanick Book fund every year, during a ceremony held on the occasion of the Saraswati Puja.^[20]

External links

• Ashutosh College
• Scottish Church College, Calcutta
• History of Scottish Church College
• Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi
• Federation of Film Societies of India
• Village Dahuka in Bardhaman district

References

1. ^ EIMPA blog
2. ^ Subhas Chandra Bose assaults Oaten, 1916
3. ^ List of Kolkata Mayors
4. ^ Ramananda Chatterjee:The Modern Review (Calcutta), vol 57 ; The Modern Review Office, Calcutta (1935), page 141.
5. ^ Screen Year Book & Who's who 1956, Express Newspapers Ltd., Mumbai, page 374
6. ^ British Film Institute guide
7. ^ Erik Barnouw : Indian Film, Columbia University Press, New York (1963), pages 143, 206, 284.
8. ^ Centennial Issue : Newspaper Press Directory, volume 100, Benn Brothers Ltd, London (1951), page 502
9. ^ Benn et al (1953). Newspaper press directory, vol 102. Benn Brothers Ltd, London. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Y0Y1AQAAIAAJ&q=%22D+Pramanick%22+bmpa&dq=%22D+Pramanick%22+bmpa&hl=en&ei=XkKyTZT4EoTlrAeew7DIDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
10. ^ K.P.V. Ayyar:Indian Press yearbook, Indian Press Publications, Madras (1956), page 343
11. ^ Report of the Enquiry Committee on Film Censorship, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Delhi (1969), page 163
12. ^ Bengali film directory,ed. Ansu Sur, Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre, Kolkata (1999), page vi, 280.
13. ^ Indian Law
14. ^ V. Doraiswamy, V.N. Sharma (editors), 1956 : Asian Film Directory & Who's who, Doraiswamy-Mumbai, page 53
15. ^ http://www.premendra.info/art16.htm accessed at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:r4GogbA0k9gJ:www.premendra.info/art16.htm+d+pramanik+treasurers&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in on 18 June 2010
16. ^ Capra at Turner Classic Movies website
17. ^ Frank Capra, The name above the title - an Autobiography, Vintage Books, New York, 1985, page 437
18. ^ Film & TV guild website
19. ^ http://www.lazydesis.com/chai-time/51698-history-indian-cinema.html
20. ^ 2010 Annual report of the Dr S. S. De Education Foundation (Regn# S-196221 1999-2000 : W.B.Societies Act 1961), page 5.

Persondata
Name	Pramanick, Diptendu
Alternative names	Dipuda
Short description	Founder Secretary of EIMPA, Kolkata
Date of birth	18 July 1910
Place of birth	Calcutta
Date of death	15 Dec 1989
Place of death	Kolkata