Dhritiman Chatterjee: 5 iconic roles of the actor in Bengali cinema

Sundar Chatterjee, popularly known as Dhritiman Chatterjee, never wanted to become an actor. He had a lot of curiosity towards world cinema, which ultimately inspired him to develop the first film society of Delhi University. He even got a chance to meet and ultimately work under legendary filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Over the years, the 73-year-old actor has preferred art-house films with socially relevant messages instead of mainstream ones. Here is a list of 5 Bengali classic films in which Dhritiman Chatterjee starred:

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pratidwandi’ (1970) marked Dhritiman Chatterjee’s big screen debut. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Sunil Gangopadhyay, this film portrayed him as Siddhartha, an extremely talented medical student forced to give up his career following the sudden demise of his father. He enacted the sere frustration and cynicism of Siddhartha so accurately that it seemed quite typical of the late 60s and the 70s youth. It was a period when social and economic decadence were increasing on an alarming rate and communism was on the upswing in Bengal.

After giving an outstanding performance in his debut film, Dhritiman Chatterjee excelled in a character which was a polar opposite of Siddhartha. It's Mrinal Sen’s one of the overtly political movies as the narrative follows a young political activist (Dhritiman) who escapes a prison van and takes shelter in a posh apartment owned by a sensitive young woman (Simi Garewal). In ‘Padatik’ we see Kolkata as in the early 1970s, a place filled with chaos and history. All of it lurches into a dark future portrayed in scattered fragments. This film finds Mrinal Sen taking up salient issues amid a period of political turmoil. Dhritiman supremely brought out the self-criticism that his character engages in and pronounced the director’s message of political turmoil with his deeply cerebral

Dhritiman Chatterjee played a negative character for the first time in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ganashatru’, inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s famous play ‘Enemy Of The State’. Here the actor was seen as a power monger municipality chairman and the evil brother of a benevolent doctor named Ashok Gupta (Soumitra Chatterjee). Dhritiman earned a lot of accolades for churning out such a comprehensive performance in the film. He got deep into the skin of the antagonist contrasting the idealistic character played by Soumitra Chatterjee. Above how the polarization of power corrupts an ambitious politician was superbly essayed out by Dhritiman Chatterjee.

This Aparna Sen directorial drives us into the world of an aged Anglo-Indian teacher Violet Stoneham (Jennifer Kendal). Dhritiman Chatterjee supremely portrayed the unusual character of author Samaresh Maitra. He is also the boyfriend of Nandita (Debashree Roy), Violet’s ex-student. Together, they use the Anglo-Indian teacher's home for their own interest and ultimately leave her alone once again when she finally wants to celebrate her friendship with the pair. Even as an opportunistic and struggling author, the versatile actor won many a heart.

In Ashok Viswanathan’s ‘Sunya Theke Suru’, he portrayed the character of an economics professor Bhismadev Sharma who was imprisoned and brutally tortured during his time behind the bars for showing his support towards a student movement. Dhritiman Chatterjee gave a gut-wrenching performance as the transformed political scenario of the city nearly drove him insane after his release. The veteran actor has always admitted playing Bhismadev Sharma was one of the biggest challenges he has faced in his career.