- Bansi Chandragupta
Bansi Chandragupta (1924-1981) was an
India nart director , regarded among the greatest of art directors of Indian film industry. He wonFilmfare Best Art Direction Award thrice, for Seema in 1972, forDo Jhoot in 1976 and for Chakra in 1982. He was awardedEvening Standard British Film Award posthumously for "best technical/artistic achievement" in 1983. He was born in 1924 inSialkot , Punjab,British India and died on 27 June 1981 inBrookhaven, New York ,USA .Chandragupta is most well-known as art director/production designer of movies directed by
Satyajit Ray . He also worked with renowned film directors likeJean Renoir ,Mrinal Sen ,Shyam Benegal ,Basu Chatterjee ,Ismail Merchant ,James Ivory andAparna Sen .Early life
Chandragupta's family moved to
Kashmir when he was a young boy. Here he met painterShubho Tagore , on whose advice Chandragupta moved toCalcutta to purue his ambition in painting. He spent most of his working life in this city.p 539, [http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT549&dq=Bansi+Chandragupta%E2%80%8E&sig=7eigxCBFL6rAAjZ1azsAVVwUWkM Google books preview] , from 'Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema', by Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee, ISBN 8179910660]Career
After a few stints in
Bengali commercial films, Chandragupta got a chance to work as art director inJean Renoir 's movie The River (1951). Here he worked closely with production designerEugène Lourié and learned the craft of film designing. During the shooting of this movie, he metSatyajit Ray who asked him to join a group of film enthusiasts to form theCalcutta Film Society .Later, Ray asked Chandragupta to be set designer for his film "
Pather Panchali ". This collaboration sustained till "Shatranj Ke Khilari " (1977). Some of the best examples of Chandragupta's work are from the Ray films: "Pather Panchali ", "Jalsaghar " and "Charulata ".Apart from Ray's films, best works of Chandragupta's works are visible in "
36 Chowringhee Lane " by Aparna Sen, "Umrao Jaan " by Muzzafar Ali and "Chakra" byRabindra Dharamraj . All these were shot in 1981, the year Chandragupta died in a heart attack in New York."
36 Chowringhee Lane " was dedicated to Chandragupta.Filmography
Production Designer
*
Akaler Sandhane (1980) directed byMrinal Sen
* Manzil (1979) directed byBasu Chatterjee
*Mahatma and the Mad Boy (1974) directed byIsmail Merchant
*27 Down (1974)
*Pratidwandi (1972) directed bySatyajit Ray
*Seemabaddha (1971) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) directed by Satyajit Ray
* The Guru (1969) directed byJames Ivory
*Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Chiriyakhana (1967) directed by Satyajit Ray
* Nayak (1966) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Akash Kusum (1965) directed by Mrinal Sen
*Kapurush (1965) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Mahapurush (1965) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Charulata (1964) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Mahanagar (1963) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Abhijan (1962) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Kanchenjungha (1962) directed by Satyajit Ray
* Rabindranath Tagore (1961) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Teen Kanya (1961) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Baishey Shravana (1960) directed by Mrinal Sen
* Devi (1960) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Apur Sansar (1959) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Jalsaghar (1958) directed by Satyajit Ray
* Maya Bazaar (1958)
*Parash Pathar (1958) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Aparajito (1956) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Pather Panchali (1955) directed by Satyajit RayArt Director
*
Tarang (1984) directed byKumar Sahani
*36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) directed byAparna Sen
* Chakra (1981) directed byRabindra Dharmaraj
* Kalyug (1981) directed byShyam Benegal
*Umrao Jaan (1981) directed byMuzaffar Ali
* Tumhari Kassam (1978)
* Mukti (1977)
*Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)
* Trimurti (1974)
*Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar (1973)
* Jangal Mein Mangal (1972)
*Piya Ka Ghar (1972) directed by Basu Chatterjee
*Paraya Dhan (1971)
*Balika Badhu (1967)
*Chiriyakhana (1967) directed by Satyajit Ray
*Pather Panchali (1955) directed by Satyajit Ray
*The River (1951 film) (1951) directed byJean Renoir et Decorator
*
Balika Badhu (1967)
*Chiriyakhana (1967)Miscellaneous Crew
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)References
External links
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