Quick Facts
Biography
Kamaleswar Mukherjee is a Bengali film director and ad maker. He directed Chander Pahar (2013) and Meghe Dhaka Tara (2013).
Career
Mukherjee is a physician by training, and an alumnus of the Medical College and Hospital of Kolkata, when it was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. He transitioned from the medical profession to the advertising world, and then to filmmaking. After working as an advertisement filmmaker, Mukherjee wrote dialogues, screenplays, and songs for Amit Sengupta's film Natobor Notout (2010).
His directorial debut, the well acclaimed film Uro Chithi was released in 2011. This film interwove 12 text messages with 12 different characters, combining shades of life spanning across 12 months. His next venture was Meghe Dhaka Tara, inspired by the life and works of Bengali filmmaker, Ritwik Ghatak. The film attempts to portray the period of Ghatak's life when he was admitted into a mental asylum for treatment. Meghe Dhaka Tara was the most critically acclaimed film in Bengali film circuit, and it won the IFFI Centenary award.
His next film was Chander Pahar (2013), based on a novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. Chander Pahar is the second costliest film made in Bengali language and is still the biggest blockbuster in the history of Bengali cinema. The film is shot in Africa and stars Dev, a popular Bengali actor. He also made a film Khawto, starring Prasenjit Chatterjee. In 2017, Mukherjee wrote and directed Amazon Obhijaan, the sequel to Chander Pahar. He also recently shot a film called Mukhomukhi.
Mukherjee is an play writer, director and the founder member of Kolkata‐based theatre group Shailushik. He is also trained in photography and computer graphics.
Awards and nominations
- Centenary Award at International Film Festival of India, Goa 2013 (Meghe Dhaka Tara)
- Silver Crow Pheasant Award for the Best Director at International Film Festival of Kerala, 2013 (Meghe Dhaka Tara)
- NETPAC Award International Film Festival of Kerala, 2013 (Meghe Dhaka Tara)
- Nominated for Filmfare Awards East for Best Director – Bengali - (Chander Pahar)
- Zee Bangla Gourab Somman Award for Best Director - (Chander Pahar)
- Kalakar Awards for Best Director - (Chander Pahar)