Kolkata: Veteran director Buddhadeb Dasgupta has been conferred ‘Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement’ award for his contribution to Indian cinema by West Bengal Film Journalist Association (WBFJA).
In his acceptance speech at the award function on Sunday, the 74-year old auteur, who received international acclaim for ‘Bagh Bahadur‘, ‘Tahader Katha‘, ‘Uttara’, ‘Kaalpurush‘ among other films, said “the works of Bengali contemporary directors should reach out to global audience”. “Our creations should get a platform at prominent film festivals in different parts of world,” he added.
Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji was honoured with the ‘Best Director’ crown for ‘Ek j Chilo Raja’, based on the Bhawal monk’s disappearance and court case in the 1920s, while lead actor of the movie Jisshu Sengupta received the ‘Best Actor’ award for his intense portrayal. Mukherjee endorsed what Dasgupta suggested and hoped that the young and the budding directors of the industry will take their works to different corners.
An emotional Sengupta, who has acted in a number of Bollywood projects in recent times, said this was the first time he was getting an award in the ‘Best Actor’ category.
New-age director Indrasis Acharya’s ‘Pupa‘ was named the ‘Best Film’, while another budding filmmaker, Soukarya Ghosal, got the ‘Best Promising Director’ title for ‘Rainbow Jelly.’ Superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee and current heartthrob Abir Chatterjee jointly shared the ‘Best Popular Actor’ honours for their portrayals in ‘Kishore Kumar Junior‘ and ‘Byomkesh Gwotro‘ respectively. Similarly, Tollywood diva Rituparna Sengupta and critically acclaimed actor Sudipta Chakraborty shared the ‘Best Actress’ recognition for their performances in ‘Drishtikone‘ and ‘Uronchondi‘ respectively. Percussionist Bickram Ghosh received the ‘Best background score’ honour for his musical score in ‘Byomkesh Gwotro’, while Anupam Roy and Nikita Gandhi won the ‘Best Playback Singer’ award for ‘Drishtikone‘ and ‘Uronchondi‘. West Bengal minister and theatre personality Bratya Basu was chosen as the ‘Best Actor in a Comic Role’ for his portrayal in ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari‘.
Several film personalities, including Union minister and singer-actor Babul Supriyo, graced Sunday’s award show ‘Cinemar Samabarton’ at Basusree Cinema in south Kolkata.
“This award is more significant as the nominations and winners have been selected by film journalists who form a vital part of the industry,” Prosenjit Chatterjee said.