Pratim D. Gupta is an Indian journalist, film critic, screenwriter and film director.[1] He reviewed films for The Telegraph newspaper and later for online platform Film Companion. His first film as writer-director is Paanch Adhyay, starring Priyanshu Chatterjee and Dia Mirza.[2] His subsequent films Shaheb Bibi Golaam and Maacher Jhol have been big box office hits besides being critically acclaimed.
Pratim D. Gupta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 11 November 1981 |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, film critic, screenwriter, film director |
Early life
editPratim D. Gupta was born Pratim Dasgupta in Kolkata in 1981 and studied in South Point School. He has a degree in Mass Communication and Film Studies from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
Career
editWhile working as a journalist with The Telegraph, Gupta's script Vanish was selected for the prestigious Binger Script Lab at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009.[3] He got his first break with the romantic drama Paanch Adhyay which is also the first Bengali film for Bollywood actress Dia Mirza.[4] Written and directed by Gupta, the film was shot almost entirely in Calcutta in November and December 2011. The film was selected as the Centrepiece Premiere at New York's South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) and picked as the New Voice in Indian Cinema at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI).
In 2013, Gupta collaborated with 10 other filmmakers to be part of the collaborative project X: Past Is Present. The film premiered in New York in 2014 and released in Indian theatres in November 2015. Gupta's second feature film was, Shaheb Bibi Golaam.[5] released in 2016. It was the first mainstream Bangla film to be picked up by Netflix, going on to win 6 Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor & Best Screenplay for Pratim.
In 2013, Pratim's screenplay Ink was selected for the prestigious Sundance Lab (India edition), where Pratim developed his script with Oscar winners like Asif Kapadia and Joshua Marston.[6] Pratim later adapted the script into his 2019 Bengali film Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo.
Maacher Jhol starring Ritwick Chakraborty as a Paris-based masterchef who returns to his roots in Kolkata was Pratim's third feature film. It was an official selection in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India 2018 in Goa. It was later picked up by Netflix as well and this time won Pratim the Best Dialogue Filmfare Award.
Early in 2018, Pratim wrote and directed the Hindi telefilm Mirchi Malini as part of Sujoy Ghosh's Teen Paheliyan series for Star Plus and Hotstar.
Ahare Mon, Pratim's fourth Bengali film starring Adil Hussain and Paoli Dam among others, has played at festivals in India and abroad and was picked as one of the best Indian films of the year by noted film critic Meenakshi Shedde in Sunday Mid Day.[7]
Pratim was featured in the Men of the Year list of 2018 by Man’s World magazine.
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Contribution | Awards/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Paanch Adhyay | Director / Writer | South Asian International Film Festival, New York – Centrepiece Premiere Mumbai International Film Festival, MAMI – New Voice in Indian Cinema Jaipur International Film Festival – Best Actress (Dia Mirza) Kalakar Awards – Best Film |
| 2015 | X: Past Is Present | Director / Writer / Producer | South Asian International Film Festival, New York – Opening Film International Film Festival of Kerala – India Premiere |
| 2016 | Shaheb Bibi Golaam | Director / Writer | New York Indian Film Festival – International Premiere Filmfare Awards East – Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Background Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing |
| 2017 | Maacher Jhol | Director / Writer | International Film Festival of India – Panorama Section South Asian International Film Festival, New York – Best Film Runner-Up Filmfare Awards East – Best Supporting Actress, Best Dialogue |
| 2018 | Ahare Mon | Director / Writer | South Asian International Film Festival, New York – Official Selection Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival – Official Selection Singapore South Asian International Film Festival – Official Selection Indian Film Festival of Melbourne – Beyond Bollywood Section Auroville Film Festival – Official Selection |
| 2019 | Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo | Director / Writer / Lyricist | South Asian International Film Festival, New York – Official Selection Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival – Opening Film Asian Film Festival, Los Angeles – Official Selection |
| 2020 | Love Aaj Kal Porshu | Director / Writer | Selected for New York Indian Film Festival, which got cancelled because of COVID-19 |
| 2023 | Tooth Pari: When Love Bites | Director/Creator |
References
edit- ^ "A new chapter". The Telegraph. 1 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ "A new turn". The Indian Express. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ "Six make it to the finals". The Hindu. 25 July 2009. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "Dia Mirza's Bengali connection". DNA. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ Nag, Kushali (22 July 2014). "Shaheb meets Bibi". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Eight Feature Film Projects Selected for Second Mumbai Mantra Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab". Sundance Group. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ Shedde, Meenakshi (30 December 2018). "Top 20 All-India And South Asian Films". Mid-Day. Retrieved 31 December 2018.