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Ajoy Kar

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Ajoy Kar
Born(1914-03-27)27 March 1914
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died25 January 1985(1985-01-25) (aged 70)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Occupation(s)Cinematographer, film director
Years active1937–1983
Known for

Ajoy Kar (Bengali:অজয় কর; 27 March 1914 – 25 January 1985) was an Indian film director and cinematographer who is known for his epic film, Saptapadi (1960). He directed 26 films between 1949 and 1983. His 1961 film Saptapadi was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. Ajoy Kar provided a whole new expression to Bengali cinema.[2] He was a Pioneer of Bengali Romantic Drama. His 1971 film Malyadan won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Kar made Harano Sur which film was based on 1942 Oscar nominated film Random Harvest which itself based on the novel of same name written by James Hilton.His contemporary filmmakers are Asit Sen, Tarun Majumdar.

Early life

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Ajoy Kar was born on 27 March 1914, in Calcutta, British India. He left college in 1931 to become a professional photographer, and took up cinematography a few years later.[3]

Career

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After initially working as an assistant to Jatin Das, Kar became a cinematographer at Indrapuri Studios, Calcutta, in 1938. Over the next four decades, he shot more than 80 feature films.[3] He also shot a number of documentary films.

Kar's first film as director was Ananya (1949), made by the Sabyasachi collective launched by Kanan Devi. The first film for which he received individual directorial credit was Bamuner Meye (1949).[4] During the 1950s and early 1960s, he emerged as a key figure in mainstream Bengali cinema, with a string of commercially successful films such as Shyamali (1956), Harano Sur (1957), Saptapadi (1961) and Saat Pake Bandha (1963). Of these, Harano Sur and Saptapadi involved the popular romantic pair of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. These films also received critical acclaim.

Filmmaking style

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Main article: Cinematic style of Ajoy Kar

From the late 1960s onwards, he made a number of films which were adaptations of well-known literary works, especially those by Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. Some of these are Parineeta (1969), Malyadan, Datta (1976) and Naukadubi (1979). In all, he directed 26 films, the last being Bishabriksha (1983).[4] He was influenced by western literature and western Movie. His spectacular camera work created him a Different Personality than other Bengali Filmmakers.

Legacy

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Malyadan and Saat Pake Bandha has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archives of India.[5] Goutam Ghose says that Mrinal Sen was compelled to write scripts for directors like Ajay Kar’s Kanch Kata Heera.His works impact and influence on South Indian filmmakers like C. V. Sridhar and P. S. Ramakrishna Rao.[6] and Bollywood filmmaker like Anil Ganguly and Partially influence on Bengali Filmmaker like Tarun Majumdar[7]

Awards and honours

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Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "ATAL JALER AHWAN". bbfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  2. ^ "3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (2nd ed.). London: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 1824. ISBN 1-57958-146-3. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Ajoy Kar - IMDb". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Digitized and Restored Films List" (PDF). nfai.nfdcindia.com. National Film Archives of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ Ramachandran, T. M. (2 April 1966). "Some Recent Releases". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 20. p. 52.
  7. ^ Gulazar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 431. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
  8. ^ "5th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals. Government of India. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. ^ "9th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals. Government of India. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  10. ^ "11th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals. Government of India. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  11. ^ "BFJA Awards (1972)". gomolo. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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