#GoldenFrames: Basu Chatterjee, the middle cinema filmmaker of India - Basu Chatterjee directed simpl- Navbharat Times Photodhamal

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Basu Chatterjee directed simple Bollywood romances and comedies—telling stories of regular middle-class men and women with humour and sensitivity. He is best known as the Middle-of-road or Middle Cinema filmmaker. Apart from Bollywood, Chatterjee has worked in Bengali cinema. He directed forty movies and seven TV series. Jeena Yahan (1979), Kamla Ki Maut (1989), Swami (1977), Rajanigandha (1974), Choti Si Baat (1976), Chitchor (1976) and Baton Baton Mein (1979) are some of his famous movies. While filmmakers showed dreams, he showed them a mirror image of their lives.

In This Pic : Basu Chatterjee

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Basu Chatterjee was born in a Bengali family in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. His middle-class upbringing reflects in his movies—which explored areas far removed from the glitz and glamour of the blockbusters of the time.

In This Pic : Basu Chatterjee

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Chatterjee arrived in Mumbai and started his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for the weekly tabloid Blitz, published by Russi Karanjia in the 1950s. He worked there for eighteen years before changing career paths to filmmaking; he assisted Basu Bhattacharya in the Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman starrer 'Teesri Kasam' (1966). Eventually, he made his directorial debut with 'Sara Akash' (1969), which won him the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award.

In This Pic : Basu Chatterjee

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Chatterjee doesn’t believe in writing his memoirs. “Jhooth bolna padega (I’ll have to lie)! That’s a part of every artiste’s life. But I stay away from dark themes and depression. That’s why my films are mostly shot in daylight,” he told Filmfare.

In This Pic : Basu Chatterjee

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In Basuda's world, women were equal to men and as fickle as men regarding relationships. His women took major decisions in the household and, given an opportunity, actively pursued a career outside the home.

In This Pic : Basu Chatterjee