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Victor Banerjee

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Victor Banerjee
Image
Banerjee in 2013
Pronunciation[bʱikʈɔɾ bɔnd̪opad̪ʱːae̯]
Born (1946-10-15) 15 October 1946 (age 79)
Jalalpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day West Bengal, India)
OccupationActor
Years active1977–present
Notable workFull list
SpouseMaya Bhate Banerjee
Children2
Honors National Board of Review Award for Best Actor (1984)
Evening Standard British Film Award (1985)
Padma Bhushan (2022)

Victor Banerjee[a] (Bengali pronunciation: [bʱikʈɔɾ bɔnd̪opad̪ʱːae̯]; born 15 October 1946) is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 100 films in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Assamese cinema. He has worked with directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and Montazur Rahman Akbar. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Ghare Baire. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2022 for his contribution to cinema by the Indian Government.[1][2]

Early life and Education

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Victor Banerjee (born October 15, 1946) is a renowned Indian actor born into a distinguished Zamindari Bengali Hindu family in Calcutta, with lineage from the Raja of Uttarpara and Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, the first president of the Indian National Congress. He was educated at St. Edmund's School, Shillong, graduated in English Literature from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, and pursued post-graduate studies in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University.

Personal life

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While in Calcutta, Banerjee performed in plays. He also performed during his time in Bombay.

He has a daughter who was a VFX supervisor for 16 years.[3]

Art aficionado

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Banerjee established The Calcutta Art Gallery in the late 1970s which was the first commercial art gallery in the city.[4]

Film career

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In 1984, Banerjee portrayed Dr. Aziz Ahmed in David Lean's film of A Passage to India, bringing him to the attention of western audiences.[5]

He acted in Merchant Ivory Productions Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures, Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari and Ghare Baire and in Mrinal Sen's Mahaprithivi. On the set of Gunday starring Priyanka Chopra, Banerjee has said that he feels "all work is a challenge and therefore fun."[6]

He was also cast in the critically acclaimed role of God in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays, by director Steven Pimlott. He was the first Asian to play a lead role in British Theatre.[7]

Filmography

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Awards and nominations

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Civilian Awards

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Film awards

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Year Award Film Category Result Ref.
1986 BAFTA Awards A Passage to India Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated [9]
1986 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Ghare Baire Best Actor Won
1997 Lathi Won
1985 Evening Standard British Film Awards A Passage to India Best Actor Won
1984 National Board of Review Awards Best Actor Won [10]
1985 National Film Awards Ghare Baire Best Supporting Actor Won [11]

Political career

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Banerjee unsuccessfully contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election in Calcutta North West from the Bharatiya Janata Party.[12][13]

As an active member of the BJP, he was critical of Mulayam Singh Yadav's order to shoot the Karsevaks who had once climbed the Babri Masjid prior to its demolition.[14]

He has been highly critical of what he called Navjot Singh Sidhu's pacifist attitude to terrorism exported from Pakistan.[15]

Footnotes

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  1. ↑ Bengali pronunciation: [bʱikʈɔɾ bɔnd̪opad̪ʱːae̯].

References

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  1. ↑ "Padma Awards 2022: Complete list of recipients". mint. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Padma Honours: Victor Banerjee To Receive Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri For Sonu Nigam". NDTV. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Victor Banerjee's daughter walks a different road - bollywood news : glamsham.com". www.glamsham.com. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Calcutta becomes new vogue-city in business of art, Bengal painters emerge from the shadows". India Today. 15 November 1989. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "The return of Victor Banerjee - Times of India". The Times of India. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "I have a kitchen to run: Victor Banerjee defends his brief role in 'Gunday'". News18. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Schafer, Elizabeth (2019). Theatre and Christianity. London: Macmillan International, Higher Education Red Globe Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-352-00557-8.
  8. ↑ "Padma Awards 2022 List: CDS General Bipin Rawat among recipients; Full List of Padma Awards winners". Jagranjosh.com. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Awards Database: Search our record of winners & nominees, Year of Presentation: 1986, Award: Film". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. ↑ National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards for 1984
  11. ↑ "32nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Did you know that renowned actor Victor Banerjee contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election from Northwest Kolkata as a BJP candidate". www.india.com. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Who is Victor Banerjee? The man who held a rally with five people: How his 1991 BJP gamble became a prophecy after Bengal's 206-seat victory". ET Now. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Banerjee, Victor. "A CHRISTENING IN BLOOD". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Victor Banerjee Slams Navjot Singh Sidhu". Business Standard India. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Victor Banerjee at Wikimedia Commons
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