Buddhadeb Dasgupta tribute: A chronicler of dreamers in a hostile world

Who will tell the stories of dreamers as affectionately and doggedly as Buddhadeb Dasgupta? The renowned filmmaker and poet died on Thursday morning at his home in Kolkata from kidney disease-related ailments. He was 77. He is survived by his daughters Rajeshwari Dasgupta and the music composer Alokananda Dasgupta.

Dasgupta’s films, filled with evocative imagery and philosophical questions, won acclaim and awards the world over. These include Bagh Bahadur, Tahader Katha, Charachar, Lal Darja, Mondo Meyer Upakhyan, Swapner Din, Kaalpurush and Tope. His Hindi-language feature Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was released in 2020 on a streaming platform seven years after its completion.

Dasgupta also directed documentaries and was a prolific Bengali poet. “I like seeing realistic cinema, but I don’t feel like making them,” Dasgupta had told Scroll.in in an interview in 2020. “Put some dreams, some magic, some reality into a glass and shake it. That’s my cinema.”

Recipient of numerous National and International honours, legendary filmmaker and renowned poet, #BuddhadebDasgupta has passed away. Sincere condolences to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/8F5N2yXGZT

— Raj chakrabarty (@iamrajchoco) June 10, 2021

Saddened at the passing away of eminent filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta. Through his works, he infused lyricism into the language of cinema. His death comes as a great loss for the film fraternity. Condolences to his family, colleagues and admirers

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 10, 2021

Dasgupta’s movies followed misfits and…

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