Bratya Basu

Bratya Basu

Bratyabrata Basu Roy Chowdhury also known as Bratya Basu, is an Indian actor, stage director, playwright, film director, professor, educationist and politician who has been the Education Minister of West Bengal since 2021. He held the same office in the First Mamata Banerjee ministry. In May 2016, Basu was assigned the portfolios of Tourism, Science Technology and Bio-Technology, and Information Technology and Electronics. He has been an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly, from the Dum Dum constituency, since the 2011 Assembly Election of West Bengal. Basu is presently the Chairperson of Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi and Minerva Natyasanskriti Charchakendra under the governance of the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, West Bengal.

Early life

Bratya Basu

Bratya Basu was born in Calcutta to Professor Dr. Bishnu Basu and Educational Administrator Dr. Neetika Basu. His original name was Bratyabrata Basu Roy Chowdhury. After his graduation in Bengali from the Presidency College (currently Presidency University, Kolkata), he completed his postgraduate education at the University of Calcutta.

Career

Bratya Basu

Bratya Basu started his career as a sound operator for the theatre group Ganakrishti and soon started writing and directing plays with the group. The themes of his writings focus on political fantasy, nature-human relationships, the connection between music and life, ethical values and their lack, the conflict between love and revolt, and the bonding between time and culture. Bratya Basu joined City College, Kolkata as an assistant professor in the Department of Bengali. He launched his career as a dramatist with the play Ashaleen (1996), described by theatre critics as the first postmodernist Bengali play. His noted plays thereafter include Aranyadeb, Shahar Yaar, Virus-M, Winkle-Twinkle, etc. His other important plays include Ruddhasangeet, Chatushkon, Hemlat - the Prince of Garanhata, Krishna Gahobar, Sateroi July, Bikele Bhorer Sorshey Phool, Supari Killer, Boma etc. A compilation of his plays has been published in four volumes in 2004, 2010, 2016 and 2022 respectively. He has directed four films– Raasta, which has a theme of youth moving into terrorism, Teesta, a film on society and the failure of romance, Tara, and Dictionary. He has acted in many films, including Kaalbela, Icchey, Sthaniyo Sambad, Hemlock Society, Muktodhara, Double Feluda, Baranda, Jogajog, Kalkijug, Asamapta, and Dhulobali Katha. Basu has received many awards and recognitions. Some of them include the Shambhu Mitra Samman 2016, conferred by Rajdanga Dyotak, Shrestha Natya Nirman 2017, conferred by Anya Theatre, Khaled Choudhury Samman 2017, conferred by Abhash, Dakshin Kolkata, Shilpayan Samman 2017, conferred by Gobordanga Shilpayan, Sumati Sengupta Smriti Samman 2019, conferred by Angan Belghoria, Dronacharya Samman 2019, conferred by Ashoknagar Natyamukh and Satyen Mitra Smriti Puroshkar awarded by Theatre Workshop in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2017 for his exemplary contribution in Bengali Theatre. He has also been awarded the Gajendra Kumar Mitra-Sumathanath Ghosh Memorial Award 2018, conferred by Mitra & Ghosh Publishers Pvt. Ltd. for his contribution to Bengali Literature.

In 2021, Bratya Basu was conferred with the Sahitya Akademi Award for outstanding works of literature, for his anthology of Bengali theatre, Mir Jafar O Onyanya Natak (a compilation of three plays - Mir Jafar, Ekdin Aladin and Ami Anukulda aar Ora). The award is given by an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, the Ministry of Culture. His plays have been translated into Hindi, English and French.

Hemlat, The Prince of Garanhata has won critical acclaim from academic researchers as an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Sam Kolodezh of the University of California, Irvine, Drama and Theatre heaped praise on Bratya's adaptation. Formerl associate professor at Kuwait University and a life-member of the Shakespeare Society of Eastern India, Antony Johae lectured on the Indianization of Shakespeare's work. Mr. Johae has contributed a research paper on Hemlat in the Vol-V, No.VIII of The International Journal of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences, edited by Dr Prof Amitava Roy, former Shakespeare professor at Rabindra Bharati University and president and co-founder of Shakespeare Society of Eastern India, and professor Ronan Paterson, an actor, director and producer for theatre and film in Britain and Ireland and an extensive writer on Shakespeare.

Bratya Basu formed the theatre group Kalindi Bratyajon in 2008. The first theatrical production of Bratyajon was Ruddhasangeet (2009), a play on the Rabindrasangeet exponent Debabrata Biswas's journey of bitter struggle throughout his life in the prevailing system. The play received acclaim and has so far staged more than 150 shows. He produced "Boma" in 2015, a period piece exposing jealousy, greed for power, and internal conflicts among Bengali freedom fighters. Basu also produced another untold history of Bengal spanning 1757 and 1764. The play Mir Jafar showcases the power politics and game of minds to unravel the complexities in which 'Mir Jafar' continues to be the emblematic representation of the 'universal betrayer' in all societies and times.

Role in theater

Plays directed

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Play</th><th>Produced by</th><th>Playwright</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref</th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1996</td><td>Ashalin</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>Aranyadeb</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Chatushkon</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Shahar Yaar</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>Virus M</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Sateroi July</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Inspired by John Wexley's 'They shall not die' and Utpal Dutta's 'Manusher Adhikare'</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Page 4:It's also a Game</td><td>Lokokrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Hemlat:The prince of Garanhata</td><td>Ballygunge Swapnasuchona</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Krishnagawhbar</td><td>Niva Arts</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Chaturanga</td><td>Purba Paschim</td><td>Sekhar Samaddar</td><td>Adaptation of Tagore's Novel</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Ruddhasangeet</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Play on Rabindrasangeet exponent Debabrata Biswas</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Kanyadan</td><td>Ballygunge Swapnasuchona</td><td>Vijay Tendulkar</td><td>Translated by Bina Alase</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Canvasser</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Short story, written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay</td><td>Adapted by Sekhar Samaddar</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Byomkesh</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Short story, written by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay</td><td>Adapted by Ujjwal Chattopadhyay</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Cinemar Moto</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Ke?</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Boma</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Mumbai Nights</td><td>Minerva Repertory Theatre</td><td>Debasish Roy</td><td>Adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Meghe Dhaka Tara</td><td>Naihati Bratyajon</td><td>Ujjwal Chattopadhyay</td><td>Based on the Bengali film, 'Meghe Dhaka Tara', directed by Ritwik Ghatak</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Adya Shesh Rajani</td><td>Paikpara Indraranga</td><td>Ujjwal Chattopadhyay</td><td>Play on late, controversial Actor-Director Ashim Chakraborty</td><td>Adya Shesh Rajani ISBN 9789383710461</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Ekush Gram</td><td>Naihati Bratyajon</td><td>Ujjwal Chattopadhyay</td><td>Based on the English film, '21 Grams', directed Alejandro Inarritu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Banijye Basate Lakkhi</td><td>Paikpara Indraranga</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td>Troyee ISBN 9789350202562</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Athoi Jal</td><td>Purba Paschim</td><td>Ujjwal Chattopadhyay</td><td>Adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's novel</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Mir Jafar</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Plays acted in

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Play</th><th>Role</th><th>Produced by</th><th>Director</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref</th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1994</td><td>Ora Panchjon</td><td>Raja</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Amitabha Dutta</td><td>Adaptation of Peter Shaffer's 'Five Finger Exercise'</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>Ashalin</td><td>Sujan</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>Aranyadeb</td><td>Aranyadeb</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Chatushkon</td><td>Soumya Sarkhel</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Shahar Yaar</td><td>Babu</td><td>Ganakrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Page 4:It's also a Game</td><td>Manohar Middya</td><td>Lokokrishti</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Hemlat:The prince of Garanhata</td><td>Hemlat</td><td>Ballygunge Swapnasuchona</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Krishnagawhbar</td><td>Angshuman Banerjee</td><td>Niva Arts</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Ruddhasangeet</td><td>Pramod Dasgupta, Santosh Kumar Ghosh</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Play on Rabindrasangeet exponent Debabrata Biswas</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Kanyadan</td><td>Arun Athole</td><td>Ballygunge Swapnasuchona</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Original play by Vijay Tendulkar, translated by Bina Alase</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Cinemar Moto</td><td>Abhijit Dutta Gupta</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Ke?</td><td>Chatak Chattoraj</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Acted in one show in Mumbai</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Boma</td><td>Chittaranjan Das</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Mumbai Nights</td><td>Guest Appearance</td><td>Minerva Repertory Theatre</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td>Adaptation of William Shkespeare's play 'Twelfth Night'</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Mulya</td><td>Sanjay Choudhury</td><td>Ballygunge Bratyajon</td><td>Debashish Roy</td><td>Adaptation of Arthur Miller's 'The Price', adapted by Asit Mukhopadhyay</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Sateroi July</td><td>Rakesh Chatterjee</td><td>Thealovers</td><td>Debashish Dutta</td><td>Inspired by John Wexley's 'They shall not die' and Utpal Dutta's 'Manusher Adhikare'</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Mir Jafar</td><td>Robert Clive</td><td>Kalindi Bratyajon</td><td>Bratya Basu</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Filmography

Directorial venture

Year	Title	Cast	Citations
2003	Rasta	Mithun Chakraborty, Rajatava Dutta, Amitabh Bhattacharjee, Rimjhim Gupta, Raghuvir Yadav, Alakananda Ray, Dolon Ray, Soma Dey, Alaka Gangopadhyay, Deb Shankar Halder
2005	Teesta	Debashree Roy, Badshah Moitra, Chandrayee Ghosh, Pijush Ganguly, Sudip Mukherjee, Biswajit Chakraborty, Sreela Majumdar, Lily Chakraborty
2010	Tara	Prosenjit Chatterjee, Paoli Dam, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Bratya Basu, Goutam Halder, Parthasarathi Deb, Piya Sengupta
2021	Dictionary	Abir Chatterjee, Nusrat Jahan, Mosharraf Karim, Poulami Basu, Arno Mukhopadhyay
2024	Hubba	Mosharraf Karim, Indraneil Sengupta, Poulami Basu and others
2027	Shekor	Seema Biswas, Chanchal Chowdhury, Loknath Dey, Riddhi sen, Angana Roy, Kunal Ghosh, Narayan Goswami and Others

Films acted in

Year	Film	Role	Directors	Ref
2005	Herbert	Dhanna	Suman Mukhopadhyay
2009	Sthanio Sangbad	Mr. Paul	Mainak Biswas and Arjun Gourisaria
2009	Kaalbela	Ramen	Goutam Ghose
2011	Hello Memshaheb	Mr. Menon	Shibaprasad Mukhopadhyay and Nandita Roy
2011	Icche	Manas	Shibaprasad Mukhopadhyay and Nandita Roy
2011	Kagojer Bou	Manik Saha	Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay
2012	Tin Kanya		Agnidev Chattopadhyay
2012	Muktodhara	Arindam	Shibaprasad Mukhopadhyay and Nandita Roy
2012	Hemlock Society	Raktim Ganguly	Srijit Mukherji
2012	Balukabela.com	Shubhankar	Partha Sen
2013	Sunglass		Rituparno Ghosh
2013	Mahapurush O Kapurush	Shri Shri Sadgajananda Maharaj/Pada	Aniket Chattopadhyay
2013	Golemale Pirit Koro Na	Nebu Kaka	Anindya Bandyopadhyay
2014	Parapar	Gopal	Sanjoy Nag
2015	Jogajog	Madhusudan	Sekhar Das
2015	Natoker Moto	Amitesh	Debesh Chattopadhyay
2015	Kalkijug	ACP Dilip Dutta	Debarati Gupta
2015	Abby Sen	Niladri	Atanu Ghosh
2016	Double Feluda	Manimohan Samaddar	Sandip Ray
2016	Gangster	Jamal	Birsa Dasgupta
2016	Asamapto	Malay	Suman Mukhopadhyay
2017	Chilekotha	Phulu Kaka	Premangshu Roy
2017	Baranda	Girijapati	Reshmi Mitra
2018	Manojder Adbhut Bari	Goenda Baradacharan	Anindya Chatterjee
2019	Bahoman	Subrata	Anumita Dasgupta
2019	Dhulobali Katha	Rajaditya Mullick	Biplab Bandyopadhyay
2019	The Lovely Mrs. Mookherjee	Kalidas Mukhopadhyay/Bratya	Indranil Roychowdhury
2021	Mayar Janjal	Ganesh Samanta	Indranil Roychowdhury
2025	Chalchittro	Bhuban Haldar	Pratim D.Gupta
2025	Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey	Girish Chandra Ghosh	Srijit Mukherji
2025	Korpur	Rakhohari	Arindam Sil

Television series acted in

Year	Title	Role	Directors	Channel	Citations
2006	Probahini Ei Somoy	Bhaskar	Abhijit Dasgupta	Akash Bangla
2007	Sonar Harin	Panu Halder	Saibal Banerjee	E TV
2009	Agnipariksha	Sashanka Debroy	Sudipto Das	Zee TV
2010	Dibaratrir Galpo	Bhaskar	Tathagata Banerjee	E TV

Awards and recognitions

Theatre

Year	Award / Recognition	Conferred by	Milestone	Citations
2000	Shyamal Sen Smriti Samman	Swapnasandhani	Notable contribution in Benagli Theatre
2000	Dishari Samman	B.F.J.A.	Contribution in Bengali Theatre
2001	Satyen Mitra Puraskar	Theatre Workshop	Outstanding contribution in Bengali Theatre
2003	Satyen Mitra Puraskar	Theatre Workshop	Memorable contribution in Bengali Theatre
2004	Satyen Mitra Puraskar	Theatre Workshop	Prominent contribution in Bengali Theatre
2014	Banglar Gourab	Zee Bangla	Contribution in Bengali Theatre
2016	Mohit Samman	Rangapat	Exemplary contribution in Bengali Theatre
2017	Satyen Mitra Puraskar	Theatre Workshop	Outstanding contribution to Bengali Theatre
2018	Prachya Samman	Prachya	Contribution in Bengali Theatre
2018	Dronacharya Samman	Ashoknagar Natyamukh	Special Award for Outstanding Contributions to Bengali Theatre
2019	Shera Bangali	ABP Group	Remarkable contribution in Theatrical Art form
2019	Dinabandhu Mitra Puraskar	Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Govt. of WB	In recognition of his distinctiveness as a playwright, an actor and a stage director in contemporary times
2021	Manthan Jibankriti Samman	Jadavpur Manthan	Lifetime Achievement Award
2021	SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD	Ministry of Culture, Government of India	For his Book, Mir Jafar O Onyanya Natak
2022	Saraswati Natya Samman	Netaji Nagar Saraswati Natyashala	An award for the best litterateur, theatre and film personality of the year
2025	Nabajagaran Samman	Ajkal Patrika	Outstanding contribution to Bengali Theatre
2025	Natadha-Bisesh-Samman	Natadha	Outstanding contribution to Bengali Theatre

Cinema

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Award / Recognition</th><th>Conferred by</th><th>Milestone</th><th>Citations</th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2017</td><td>Ritwik Ghatak Smriti Puroskar</td><td>Rajshahi Ritwik Ghatak Memorial Committee, Republic of Bangladesh</td><td>Notable contribution in Benagli Cinema</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Jury Award for Best Actor - Male</td><td>Hyderabad 'Bengali' Film Festival</td><td>Outstanding performance in the film, Asamapta</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Special Jury Award</td><td>26th Annual Kalakar Awards</td><td>Outstanding performance in the film, Baranda</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>B.F.J.A. Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role</td><td>B.F.J.A.</td><td>Best Acting in a Comic Role in the film, Manojder Adbhut Bari</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>Jury Award for Best Supporting Actor - Male</td><td>Telangana 'Bengali' Film Festival</td><td>Best Supporting acting in the film, Bahaman</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>100 Greatest Performances of the Decade</td><td>Film Companion, an online platform for Independent Film Journalism, India</td><td>Superlative performance as 'Malay' in the film, Asamapta</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Goutam Buddha Award</td><td>Nepal International Film Festival 2021</td><td>Best International Feature Film Award for the film, Dictionary, directed by him</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Political career

Bratya Basu

Bratya Basu won the West Bengal Assembly polls in 2011 on a Trinamool Congress ticket against a CPI(M) Minister, Gautam Deb, from the Dum Dum (Vidhan Sabha constituency). He was made Minister for Higher Education in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet. He decided to launch a survey of the state's higher education situation for clarification purposes. Basu was brought back as Education Minister after Trinamool Congress's substantial win at 2021 Assembly Election.