Utpal Dutt – Multi-faceted Powerhouse of Talent
iView Author: Satyendra Jha (Pune, India) Email: satyendrajha30[at] gmail [dot] com
Utpal Dutt – Multi-faceted Powerhouse of Talent
How do you start writing about a person who has directed more than 100 plays & nukkad naataks, was a founder member of IPTA, has acted in more than 200 movies, could talk in at least 8 languages even in his sleep, is considered to be an expert on Shakespeare, taught English professionally in India’s largest school in terms of number of students, and had been jailed in independent India for voicing his independent views… we are, of course, talking about actor, writer, director, political activist, teacher, linguist, intellectual and a literary thespian – Utpal Dutt.
Readers must already be smiling at the mere mention of the name, and the entire heavy-duty introduction to the person becomes secondary or redundant …. Because all you remember (or want to remember) right now is an assortment of comical characters (mostly from Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Chatterjee movies), delivering the funny dialogues in the most typical way……”bewakoof”…
Golmaal, Naram Garam, Baat Ban Jaaye, Kirayedaar, Rang Birangi, Shaukeen, Pasand Apni Apni, Hamari Bahu Alka, Guddi are some of the movies most ‘lovers of comedy’ would readily rattle off, and all these movies have a character played by Utpal Dutt, which stays etched in your mind longer than the main protagonists of the movie.
Of course, you would say, on second thoughts, that there is more to Utpal Dutt than these timeless classic comedies, and you would start counting Bhuvan Shome, Kissa Kursi Ka, Saat Hindustani, Padma Nadir Majhi, Chorus, Jukti – Takko Aar Gappo, as the serious cinema that he did, and got critical acclaim for the sensitive portrayal of complex characters. He also won the National Award for the role of a loner bureaucrat in Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome.
Then there are movies where he has done more of a filler job, primarily as a villain or a character actor, but as is evident, he has left an indelible mark in those movies, where probably he was not supposed to or expected to. Sample this… Do Anjaane, Saaheb, Anurodh, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Julie, The Great Gambler, Inquilaab. And ofcourse, he did some memorable movies with his very good friend, Satyajit Ray, like Jan Aranya, Joy Baba Felunath, Hirak Rajar Deshe and Agantuk. He also did two movies in English under Merchant Ivory productions, named Shakespeare-wallah and The Guru.
The kind of movies that he did, mentioned above, reflect the variety of roles that he essayed, and made a mark for himself in all genre, be it comedy, serious character roles, or even the villainous roles with a tinge of comedy.
Born on 29 March, 1929 at Barisal (now Bangladesh), he went on to do his schooling and graduation from my own alma mater, St. Xaviers, Kolkata, so there is a feeling of greater affinity with him. He dabbled in theatre and nukkad naataks right from his college days, and took it upon himself to study and portray the Shakespearean plays in great details. So much so, that soon he was considered to be an authority on the complex character portrayals conceived by Shakespeare. His passionate take of Othello in the play by the same name in late 40’s impressed Geoffrey Kendal so much that he invited Utpal Dutt to be a part of his Shakespearean International Theatre Company twice on its all India tour, once in 1947 and again in 1953. This was also the time when he founded the IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Organisation) along with his likeminded friends like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and later Balraj Sahni. His leaning towards the leftist Marxist ideologies did not go down well with some of his professional alliances in IPTA, and as a result he quit and founded his own Little Theatre Group, and started writing, acting and directing plays.
In early 50’s, he also formed his own Jatra troupe (a type of Bengali folk-based musical plays) and started touring the interiors of Bengal and spreading his leftist leanings by addressing the socio-political issues in Bengal. His revolutionary play ‘Angaar’ (based on the plight of coal-mine workers) earned him a lot of visibility as the foremost proponent of Marxist ideologies and got him into enough troubles with the then ruling Congress party, to the extent that he was considered a threat to the peaceful (?) political environment of the country, and was jailed for his efforts.
That, however, did not deter him from writing, directing and enacting plays on the prevalent political turmoil, and came out with gems like Kallol (Cry Freedom), Tiner Taloar (Tin Sword), Laal Durgo (Red Castle), Dushawpner Nagari (Nightmare Town) and Maanusher Odhikare (Human Rights). Of course, he was jailed once again, but it was normal for him by then. One of his most famous plays, Aajker Shahjahan (Today’s King) was recently adopted by the maverick Bengali director, Rituparno Ghosh for the award winning ‘The Last Lear’, the main protagonist enacted most famously by Amitabh Bachchan.
In late 70’s, he was voted as the most influential personality in Indian Theatre Movement, and even today, there is an annual Theatre Fest in Kolkata in recognition of his contribution, named after him – Utpal Dutt Natyotsab. He also directed feature films dealing with the socio-political theme, like Megh (Clouds), Ghoom Bhangar Gaan (Songs of Awakening), Baishakhi Megh (Torrential Clouds), Jhar (Torrential Rain) and Maa (Mother).
And to think that among all his other occupations, he still managed to learn and be fluent in languages like Bengali, English, Hindi, Assamese, Spanish, French, German and Latin, and taught English for a long duration in India’s largest school in terms of number of students, South Point High School, Kolkata.
He died on 19 August, 1993 in Kolkata, leaving behind a legacy of plays, nukkad naataks, Jatras, movies. Unfortunately, today most of us remember him only for the comedy roles made immortal by him. But that aspect of his multi-faceted personality was only a tip of the ice-berg.
This post may not even have touched half of the qualities and brilliance that Utpal Dutt possessed, and any omissions are purely out of my ignorance of the power-house of talent. Readers are, therefore, requested to bring forth their own views and take on the maestro, and make it more comprehensive and complete.
Tags: Utpal Dutt
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Very well researched & written article.I think you have covered most of the elements associated with Utpal Da within the required length & made it look very informative.On a personal note- your write-up also makes me feel nostalgic about Kolkata ( Xaviers,South Point,the bong movies etc)
I’ve really liked Utpal da’s work be it in a comedy role in Golmaal or in serious cinema like Agantuk.
Golmaal belonged to Utpal Dutt rather than Amol Palekar.It is great to know that such a great actor was more than just an actor
uss sachche kalakaar ko ‘aal salaam’.
whooops.., thats “‘LAAL’ salaam” …, hehe ;)
whooops, thas “‘LAAL’ salaam”…, hehe ;)
Too good write-up !!!
GK
hey, thx guys for liking the post.
@sethu: thx for the support and vindication of my faith buddy…yes, i too get nostalgic abt kolkata at the slightest hint. just tht i keep going back home every 6 months or so, so i keep things alive.
Am a huge fan of his.Thank you soo much for this nicely written article.Of course all of India remembers him because of Golmaal.His talent was not exploited fully in Hindi films where he got stuck in the image of a comedian.His bengali films truly show his range as he has worked with “the master” on a number of occassions.His role in “Agantuk”(anyone who has not seen this movie pleaaase watch it with subtitles)shows what a remarkable actor he is.And of course who can forget Bhuvan Shome!!
By “the master” I mean Satyajit Ray.Sorry for the omission.
For me one of the defining moments of Utpal Dutta is when he dubs for Uttam Kumar in ‘Saptapadi’. I mean Uttam Kumar [the best and the biggest actor/star of Indian Cinema...can't help..Bangali jo ho ;)] who’s paired with Suchitra Sen [Uttam-Suchitra is the best on-screen pair in Indian Cinema and always will be] in probably their ‘biggest’ movie…and the Utpal Dutta dubbing for Uttam Kumar during ‘Othello’…
What voice, command over the language…
That is what he was…is…and will be…
i guess the best works he had was with directors like Ray & Mrinal Sen, but he clicked better with Hrishi da & Basu Chatterjee. of course, his Golmaal is the most famous role, but my personal best is the enigmatic streak of the ‘forced-upon’ relative in Aagantuk. watch Mamta Shankar and Dipankar Day cast a spell of doubt around his character, with a special aid from Dhritiman Chatterjee, and the way Utpal da’s character logically reacts… even the cinematic brilliance and the genius of Ray got over-shadowed by the explosive talent of Utpal da.
Sadly i have not seen much of Utpal Dutt’s Bong movies. But from what i saw of his performances in Hindi movies, he was a real natural, effortless actor. Just loved the way, he could slip into any role, be it comic, emotional or the baddie kind. While his comic acts in Golmaal and Naram Garam are widely appreciated, i loved him in Saheb, where he plays a helpless father. Never overacting, never hamming up, he so wonderfully brings out the pain and agony, and yet still manages to strike a chord. And he could be quite nasty as the baddie in movies like Amanush, Inquilab.
In Julie i think after Nadira’s, his was the best performance, especially in the climax scene, where he takes on Nadira. Surely one of the finest actors in Indian cinema.
@ Ratnakar: there is a collection of 3 dvds od ray with subtitles, which includes agantuk, ghare baire and shakha proskaha. get it from any store, if u can. u wont b disappointed..
Loved his performance in Saheb. That movie is still thr down in my memory lane. More because of Anil’s Performance, the over all subject of the movie..but Utpal played a significant role to make Saheb a all-time-any-time-every-time favourite movie for me.
~Ashu Bhai MAPRM wale
Truly a great versatile actor. These greats were on one side highly intellectual and on the other side they were deeply rooted to their society and culture.That is why they could exhibit such a wide range of performance.
I have seen some Bengali movies of Utpal Dutt with subtitles on DD long back when they used to telecast regional movies with subtitles but not have seen any Bengali movie in recent past. Can somebody please sugest me a proper source to get these movies.
@ Atul: most of the bengali movies mentioned in the post can be found on dvd (with sub-titles, of course) in most of the music stores like planet M, crossword, music world, landmark etc. my personal recommendation would be agantuk, joy baba felunath, hirak rajar deshe.
watch the original saheb in bengali, where lead role was played by tapas paul. utpal da was in better elements in bengali than in the hindi version, IMO.
I think his best work is Bhuvan Shome
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064086/
Jha- just as I said Utpal Da was such a great actor that one can go & on about him.all the comments here go on to re-iterate the same.So Agantuk ho ya Golmaal sabka apna apna choice hoga.But what’s important is almost all are in acceptance of his talent.
Wow, that was one good writeup of a thespian unknown and underrated. Known mostly for his comic characters, but you’ve researched so well and the article gives so much info on him. Just one word…wonderful!!!
Great Person!Great Thespian! Great Tribute!
great actor… my personal favourite is naram-garam… wht a performance and that dialogue- aaj se tumhari tankhwah panch.. panch.. rupees badhai jati hai…. and from golmaal- ladoo.. ladoo.. nariyal ke ladoo..
Jha, excellent writing on a true master, I treasure Dutt’s Bhuvan Shome, Agantuk and Chorus!
unfortunately, as with the case of numerous other personalities, we don’t have any dedicated website for Utpal Dutt. This is a shame! With the death of these stalwarts, we are losing a great part of our culture!
He is probably one of the best actor in all directions of acting. Even keeping in mind the famous heroes and the legendary stars, I would say that his talent was outstanding that bloomed in all directions of acting – Stage to film and in different character roles. In a bengali film (Saptapadi) his voice as Othello in a short drama was just superlative.
I take this opportunity to convey my whole hearted regards to the legemdary personality.