Utpal Dutt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Utpal Dutt
Dutt on a 2013 stamp of India
Born	(1929-03-29)29 March 1929 Barishal, Bengal, British India (now Barisal, Bangladesh)
Died	19 August 1993(1993-08-19) (aged 64) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Other names	Utpal Dutt
Occupation	Actor, director, writer-playwright
Years active	1947–1993
Works	Filmography
Spouse(s)	Shobha Sen ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	Bishnupriya Dutta
Awards	Full list

Utpal Dutt (born March 29, 1929 – died August 19, 1993) was a famous Indian actor, director, and writer. He was a very important person in modern Indian theatre, especially in Bengali plays.

He started the "Little Theatre Group" in 1949. This group performed many plays, including those by William Shakespeare and Bertolt Brecht. Later, their plays became very political, showing his ideas about fairness and social issues. Some of his well-known plays include Kallol (1965) and Manusher Adhikar.

Utpal Dutt also acted in over 100 Bengali and Hindi movies during his 40-year career. He is remembered for his roles in films like Bhuvan Shome (1969), Agantuk (1991), and comedies such as Gol Maal (1979). He even played a sculptor in the TV series Byomkesh Bakshi (TV series) shortly before he passed away.

He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1970. He also received three Filmfare Best Comedian Awards for his funny roles. In 1990, he was given the highest award for theatre in India, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, for his amazing work in theatre throughout his life.

Early Life and Education

Utpal Dutt was born on March 29, 1929, in Barisal. His father was Girijaranjan Dutta. He studied English Literature at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, which is part of the University of Calcutta.

A Career in Theatre and Film

Utpal Dutt started his acting journey in English theatre when he was a teenager in the 1940s. He created a group called "The Shakespeareans" in 1947. Their first play was a powerful show of Shakespeare's Richard III, with Dutt playing the king.

This performance impressed Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Kendal, who had their own travelling theatre company. They hired Utpal Dutt, and he toured with them across India and Pakistan for two years, performing Shakespeare's plays. He was highly praised for his role as Othello.

After the Kendals left India in 1949, Utpal Dutt renamed his group the "Little Theatre Group" (LTG). For the next three years, they performed plays by famous writers like Ibsen, Shaw, and Tagore. Later, the group decided to focus only on Bengali plays. They also became a company that produced Bengali movies.

Theatre for Change

Utpal Dutt was a strong believer in using theatre to talk about social issues and bring about change. He was a founding member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), a group known for its focus on social justice.

He created what he called "Epic Theatre," a term he borrowed from Bertolt Brecht. This type of theatre aimed to make the audience think and discuss important topics. His Brecht Society, started in 1948, was even led by famous filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

In 1954, he began writing and directing Bengali plays that were often about political issues. In 1959, his group, the LTG, started performing at the Minerva Theatre, Kolkata. One famous play there was Angar (Coal), which showed the struggles of coal miners.

From Stage to Screen

Utpal Dutt's move into films happened when filmmaker Madhu Bose saw him perform as Othello. This led to Dutt getting the main role in the film Michael Madhusudan (1950). He then acted in many Bengali films, including several by the legendary director Satyajit Ray.

He also became a very popular comic actor in Hindi cinema. Even though he acted in only a few Hindi films, he was known for his funny roles in movies like Guddi, Gol Maal, and Rang Birangi. He won awards for his comedy in Gol Maal, Naram Garam, and Rang Birangi.

Utpal Dutt also played villain roles in some big Amitabh Bachchan movies, such as The Great Gambler. Interestingly, he was the main hero in Amitabh Bachchan's very first film, Saat Hindustani.

Revolutionary Theatre

Utpal Dutt was a lifelong supporter of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). His "Revolutionary Theatre" was a big deal in Bengali theatre. He performed many street plays to support the Communist Party.

In 1965, he was even put in jail by the government for several months. This was because his play Kallol (Sound of the Waves), which was about a mutiny by Indian sailors against the British, was so popular that the government worried it might cause protests. Kallol became his longest-running play at the Minerva Theatre.

After leaving the Minerva Theatre, his group was renamed the "People's Little Theatre." They started performing "street plays" in open spaces, without fancy sets, in front of huge crowds. This helped make street theatre popular in India.

He also started writing and acting in Jatra, a traditional Bengali folk drama. His Jatra plays were often performed outdoors and showed his commitment to his political beliefs.

Even when some of his plays like Barricade and Dusswapner Nagari (City of Nightmares) were officially banned in the 1970s, people still came in large numbers to watch them.

While in jail in 1964, he wrote Louha Manab (The Iron Man). He wrote many other plays that were rebellious and politically charged, such as Tiner Toloar (The Tin Sword) and Manusher Odhikare (Rights Of Man), which was about fighting racial unfairness. In total, he wrote many plays, Jatra scripts, and directed over sixty productions. He also wrote serious studies about theatre and translated works by Shakespeare and Brecht.

He also directed several films himself, including Megh (1961), a mystery film, and Jhar (Storm) (1979).

Legacy

Dutt on a 2013 stamp of India.

Forty years after his famous play Kallol was first performed, it was brought back to life in 2005. This new version, called Gangabokshe Kallol, was part of the "Utpal Dutt Natyotsav" (Utpal Dutt Theatre Festival) and was performed on a stage on the Hooghly River in Kolkata.

His play Aajker Shahjahan was made into an English film called The Last Lear in 2007. This film, about an unusual Shakespearean actor, later won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English.

Personal Life

In 1960, Utpal Dutt married actress Shobha Sen. They had one daughter, Bishnupriya Dutt, who is now a professor of Theatre & Performance studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

Death

Utpal Dutt passed away on August 19, 1993, from a heart attack. He had just returned home from the hospital in Kolkata where he had been receiving treatment.

Awards and Recognition

• 1990 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his lifetime work in theatre.
• National Film Award for Best Actor – Won
  1970 Bhuvan Shome – Bhuvan Shome
  

• Filmfare Best Comedian Award – Won
  1980 Gol Maal – Bhawani Shankar
  1982 Naram Garam – Bhavani Shankar
  1984 Rang Birangi – Police Inspector Dhurandhar Bhatawdekar
  
• Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award: Best Actor Award – Won
  1993 Agantuk – Manomohan Mitra
  
• Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award – Nominated
  1975 Amanush – Mahim Ghoshal
  1980 Gol Maal – Bhawani Shankar
  1986 Saaheb – Badri Prasad Sharma
  

Filmography

This is a list of some of the films Utpal Dutt acted in.

Plays Written by Utpal Dutt

Books and Writings

• Girish Chandra Ghosh. Sahitya Akademi Publications. 1992. ISBN: 81-7201-197-0.
• The Great Rebellion, 1857 (Mahabidroha), Seagull Books, 1986. ISBN: 81-7046-032-8.
• On Theatre, Seagull Books. 2009. ISBN: 81-7046-251-7.
• Towards A Revolutionary Theatre. Seagull Books, 2009. ISBN: 81-7046-340-8.
• On Cinema. Seagull Books, 2009. ISBN: 81-7046-252-5.
• Rights Of Man (Manusher Adhikare). Seagull Books, 2009. ISBN: 81-7046-331-9.
• 3 Plays. Seagull Books, 2009. ISBN: 81-7046-256-8.
• Gadya Sangraha,Volume1,1998 ISBN: 81-7612-033-2 & Volume 2,2011ISBN: 978-81-295-1125-6,Dey's Publishing
• Encore(Theater Stories selected and translated by Utpal Dutta),Deep Prakashan
• Sahhensha Tomar Puraskar Tomar-i Thak(A Collection of Poems by Utpal Dutta),Deep Prakshan

See also

In Spanish: Utpal Dutt para niños