Santosh Dutta

Santosh Dutta (Bengali: সন্তোষ দত্ত; 2 December 1925 – 8 February 1988^[2]) was a Bengali actor, best known for playing the character of Jatayu^[3] in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movie series Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath.

Santosh Dutta
সন্তোষ দত্ত
Dutta in Mahapurush (1965)
Born	(1925-12-02)2 December 1925 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal)
Died	8 February 1988(1988-02-08) (aged 62) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Actor, Criminal lawyer[1]
Children	1[1]

Early life

Dutta was a lawyer by profession. Essentially a comedian, he elevated comedy acting to the levels of character roles. Satyajit Ray gave him the first break with a small role in his immortal film Parash Pathar. After Sonar Kella, he became so associated with the role of "Jatayu" that Satyajit Ray later reframed the appearance of Jatayu and started making the sketches of Jatayu resembling Dutta in Feluda novels. After the death of this actor, Ray once remarked that there will be no further movies in the Feluda series as Jatayu cannot be thought of without Santosh Dutta. Though after the death of Ray, the role of Jatayu was later played by artists such as Anup Kumar, Bibhu Bhattacharya, and even Rabi Ghosh. These actors agreed that it was impossible to play the character without the influence of Santosh Dutta in mind.

Career

Apart from playing Jatayu, Dutta played crucial roles in Satyajit Ray's masterpieces for children like Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and Hirak Rajar Deshe. In Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen, Dutta played dual roles of the kings of "Halla" and "Shundi". In Hirak Rajar Deshe, which is a sequel to Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen, Dutta played the role of a mysterious scientist (known as Gobeshok Gobuchondro Gyanotirtho Gyanorotno Gyanambudhi Gyanochuramoni), in addition to a small appearance for the same 'King of Shundi'.^[4]

Another milestone in Dutta's career was playing Gopal Bhar in the film of the same name. Gopal Bhar being a humorous character known for centuries in India, particularly the state of West Bengal.

The role of Abalakanto in Ogo Bodhu Sundari has also become legendary.

Dutta played important roles in films like Teen Kanya, Paras Pathar, Kapurush O Mahapurush, Streer Patra, Marjina Abdallah, Jana Aranya, Char Murti and Gana Devata. He played the roles of comedians in some commercial theaters. Kone Bibhrat was one of the plays in his later years which was a mega hit. He worked in a TV serial called Goenda Bhagabandas with Rabi Ghosh, another famous actor of his time.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Genre	Role	Notes
1958	Parash Pathar	Satyajit Ray		Atanu (The announcer)	Uncredited
1958	Headmaster	Agragami		Actor
1961	Teen Kanya	Satyajit Ray		Kishori	(segment "Samapti")
1965	Mahapurush	Satyajit Ray		Professor Nandi / Nani
1968	Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne	Satyajit Ray		King of Shundi & Halla
1972	Streer Patra	Purnendu Pattrea		Doctor
1973	Shriman Prithviraj	Tarun Majumdar		Nobin Master
1973	Marjina Abdulla	Dinen Gupta		Ali Baba
1974	Sonar Kella	Satyajit Ray		Lalmohan Ganguly / Jatayu
1974	Jadu Bansha	Partha Prathim Choudhury		Actor
1976	Jana Aranya	Satyajit Ray		Hiralal Saha
1976	Asadharan	Salil Sen		Actor
1977	Sister	Pijush Bose		Actor
1977	Ek Je Chhilo Desh	Tapan Sinha		Actor
1977	Ei Prithibir Panthanibas	Aravind Mukherjee		Actor
1977	Shesh Raksha	Shankar Bhattacharya		Actor
1978	Charmurti	Umanath Bhattacharya		Meshomoshai
1979	Joi Baba Felunath	Satyajit Ray		Lalmohan Ganguly / Jatayu
1979	Ghatkali	Bimal Roy Jr.		Actor
1979	Ganadevata	Tarun Majumdar		Surveyor
1979	Brajabuli	Pijush Bose		Actor
1980	Paka Dekha	Aravind Mukherjee		Actor
1980	Hirak Rajar Deshe	Satyajit Ray		King of Shundi / Scientist in Hirak Raj
1980	Sandhi	Amal Dutta		Actor
1980	Abhi	Apurba Kumar Mitra		Actor
1980	Gopal Bhanar	Amal Sur		Gopal Bhar
1981	Subarnalata	Bijoy Bose		Actor
1981	Ogo Bodhu Shundori	Salil Dutta		Abolakanta
1982	Khelar Putul	Tarun Majumdar		Actor
1982	Malancha	Purnendu Pattrea		Actor
1982	Rasamoyeer Rasikata	Amal Sur		Actor
1983	Rajeswari	Salil Dutta		Actor
1983	Kauke Bolo Na	Vishwanath Mukherjee		Actor
1983	Duti Pata	Bimal Roy Jr.		Actor
1983	Srinkhal	Abir Basu		Actor
1984	Pujarini	Partha Prathim Choudhury		Actor
1984	Shilalipi	Palash Bannerjee		Actor
1984	Sorgol	Biswajit		Actor
1984	Lolita	Tapan Choudhury		Actor
1984	Amar Geeti	Tarun Majumdar		Actor
1984	Joy Parajoy	Chandan Mukherjee		Actor
1985	Baikunther Will	Sushil Mukherjee		Actor
1985	Nishantay	Narayan Chakraborty		Actor
1985	Aamar Prithibi	Bimal Bhowmick		Actor
1985	Nishante	Narayan Chakraborty		Actor
1985	Hulusthul	Aravind Mukherjee		Actor
1986	Dui Adhyay	Goutam Mukhopadhyay		Actor
1986	Urbashe	Salil Dutta		Actor
1986	Subho Kamon Aachho?	Partha Pratim Chowdhury		Actor
1987	Abir	Kamal Majumdar		Actor
1987	Samrat-O-Sundari	Bimal Roy Jr.		Actor
1988	Agni Sanket	Swarup Dutta		Actor
1989	Gili Gili Gay	Ishwar Chakraborty		Actor
1991	Palataka	Saran Dey		Actor

References

1. TNN (11 January 2017). "Baba never got his due: Santosh Dutta". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
2. Santosh Dutta. WorldCat. Retrieved 31 Oct 2024.
3. Andrew Robinson (1989). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press. pp. 360–. ISBN 978-0-520-06946-6. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
4. Satyajit Ray; Bert Cardullo (1 March 2007). Satyajit Ray: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-1-57806-937-8. Retrieved 21 July 2012.

External links

• Santosh Dutta at IMDb