Best Bengali Actors till date 2018

The legendary Bengali Actor of Calcutta, Uttam Kumar (Guru, Mahanayak as fans say), widely regarded as one of the Greatest actors ever in India, was an Indian film actor, director, producer, singer, music composer, playback singer who predominantly worked in Indian Cinema. Though he was a commercial success and widely accepted as the Greatest Actor of Bengali film, he also achieved great critical appreciations for his natural way of acting. When the Indian government instituted the National Film Awards for National Film Award for Best Actor and National Film Award for Best Actress in 1967, Uttam Kumar was the first-ever recipient of the Best Actor Award for his performances in Antony Firingee and Chiriyakhana in 1967. Acted in over 250 films with different experimental and complicated characters. Among which "Nayak", "Bicharak", "Jatugriha", "Chiriyakhana", "Khokababur Protyabarton", "Chowrongiee", "Ekhane Pinjar", "Thana Theke Aschi" etc. shows his genius.Though there were problems regarding editing, co-stars and others in contemporary Bengali films, still his genius acting made him the most popular film star. He is well acclaimed due to the successful depiction of several kinds of characters in films apart from his romantic image. He received the Best "greatest Actor" MAHANAYAK award for the same film from the Government of India on 25 November 1975. The price was worth 500000 rupees. Besides 8 times Bengal film Journalists' Awards for his incomparable acting he got many prizes and acclaims throughout his life. Got the Indian national award Padmashree for his contribution to Bengali films. He produced "Saptapadi" which was a commercial hit and approved Uttam Kumar along with Suchitra Sen the romantic Icon of Bengali Film forever. It got Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film in Bengali in 1961 National Film Award, India. He starred in Hindi films like "Kitaab", "Dooriyan", "Plot no. 5", "Amanush", "Anand Ashram" etc. which approves his popularity and also shows beauties of natural acting. He composed music for the film "Banpalashir Padabali", which was a great commercial hit. He was very generous to poor co-workers in Film Industry but he lived an alcoholic reckless life. Workaholic Uttam Kumar died while filming "Ogo Bodhu Sundari" one of the greatest comedy films of Bengal, in Belle Vue Clinic on 24th July 1980.The Tollygunge metro station of Kolkata Metro was renamed as "Mahanayak Uttam Kumar". Satyajit Ray paid homage to his death saying "It is the demise of a leading light of the Bengali film industry...There isn't - there won't be another hero like him."

Soumitra Chatterjee is an Indian actor, playwright and poet. World-renowned film director Satyajit Ray has acted in multiple shadow films. He has made Bengali film a place in the court of the world. In his long acting career, he has received many awards from home and abroad. His films have also won numerous awards. He died on 15th November, 2020 at the age of 85. Even after his death, his performance has been and will always be remembered in the hearts of all the audience.

Bhanu Bannerjee was born on 26 August 1920 in Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Munshiganj, Bangladesh]. He was an actor and producer, known for Sharey Chuattar (1953), Parajay (1939) and Bindur Chheley (1973). He died on 4 March 1983 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India.

Mithun Chakraborty, whose birth name was Gouranga Chakraborty, is an actor, producer, and politician. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and has worked in several Hindi and Bengali films.

He studied at Oriental Seminary and then cleared his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Scottish Church College in Kolkata. Chakraborty graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

Chakraborty has appeared in over 350 films, including Hindi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Odia, Kannada, Telugu, and Punjabi movies. He made his acting debut with Mrigayaa (1977). This debut earned him his first National Film Award for Best Actor.

During his early career as an actor, he had minor roles in movies like Do Anjaane (1976) and Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan (1978). However, it was the low-budget espionage film Surakksha (1979) that propelled Chakraborty to fame. Additionally, Basu Chatterjee's film Prem Vivah (1979) was also a significant movie for Chakraborty in the late 1970s.

His collaboration with Deepak Bahry in 1979 with Tarana (1979) got him many hit films together in the 1980s, such as Humse Badhkar Kaun: The Entertainer (1998), Hum Se Hai Zamana (1983), and Woh Jo Hasina (1983).

Chakraborty debuted in Bengali cinema with Nadi Theke Sagare (1978), directed by Arabinda Mukhopadhyay. He impacted Hindi cinema in the 1980s with over 110 releases. He played Jimmy in the iconic 1982 film Disco Dancer (1982), which was the first film in India to gross Rs. 100 crores. He played dual roles for the first time in Taxi Chor (1980) and later played dual roles in 19 films.

Between 1990 and 1999, he appeared in over 100 movies and delivered several outstanding and unforgettable performances. Some of his notable works during this period include Agneepath (1990), which earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as hits like Shandar (1990) and Trinetra (1991).

He also won two National Film Awards for his role in Tahader Katha (1992) and Vivekananda (1998).

Chakraborty appeared on screen in several blockbusters in the mainstream Hindi film industry from 2000-2019. His film Elaan (2005) received massive appreciation from the audience and his critics. His movie Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya! (2009) won multiple International awards, and critics appreciated Chal Chalein (2009) for its bold theme.

His next film Phir Kabhi (2008), was critically acclaimed and saw a direct-to-home (DTH) premiere in September 2009. The movie won as many as six awards in as many categories at the Los Angeles Reel Awards of 2009.

The Bhojpuri film, Bhole Shankar (2008) was Chakraborty's debut in the industry and is believed to be the biggest Bhojpuri film. He has played a role in films like Veer (2010) with Salman Khan and Golmaal 3 (2010) with Ajay Devgn. In 2012, he did three films with Akshay Kumar, OMG: Oh My God! (2012), Housefull 2 (2012), and Khiladi 786 (2012).

Chakraborty also made his Kannada debut with The Villain (2018), starring Shivarajkumar and Sudeep. He was also seen in The Kashmir Files (2022). Chakaraborty's web series, Bestseller (2022), was his debut in digital cinema through the OTT platform Amazon Prime.

Chakraborty is the recipient of three National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards, one Screen Award, three BFJA Awards, two Anandalok Awards, one award from Stardust, one Annual Central European Bollywood Award, one Star Jahlsa Award, and one Star Jahlsa Award for his acting performance.

Chakraborty was the brand ambassador of Panasonic electronics in the late 1980s. He is the face of GoDaddy and the Manappuram Gold Loan for West Bengal state.

In 1979, he tied the knot with actress Helena Luke but their marriage lasted only for four months, and they separated, eventually getting a divorce. He then married another actress Yogeeta Bali in the same year. Together, they have four children - Mimoh, Ushmey Chakraborty, Namashi Chakraborty, and an adopted daughter named Dishani Chakraborty.

Prosenjit Chatterjee was born on 30 September 1962 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is a producer and actor, known for 22 Shey Shraban (2011), Jubilee (2023) and Mishawr Rawhoshyo (2013). He has been married to Arpita Chatterjee since 2002. They have one child. He was previously married to Aparna Guha Thakurta and Debashree Roy.

Abir Chatterjee was born on 18 November 1980 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is an actor, known for Kahaani (2012), Byomkesh Gotro (2018) and 22 Shey Shraban (2011). He has been married to Nandini Chatterjee since 2007. They have one child.

Parambrata Chattopadhyay was born on 27 June 1980 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and director, known for Kahaani (2012), Shonar Pahar (2018) and Abhijaan (2022). He has been married to Piya Chakraborty since 27 November 2023.

Jeet (Jeetendra Madnani) is an Indian Actor , Producer, Writer and Television presenter who predominantly works in the Bengali film industry . He was born on 30th November in West Bengal, India. Jeet started out his career as a model and further appeared in versatile television serials. He made his debut in a Telegu film called "Chandu" and began to achieve huge success at the box-office with his first Bengali Film "Sathi" . Since 2002 , He has acted in more than 48 (forty eight) films , most of which are the highest grosser in Bengali cinema . He has received several Awards for his contribution to the entertainment industry and is identified as the "BOSS'' of Tollywood film industry. Some of his films include : Royal Bengal Tiger , Boss , Sultan : The Saviour and others . We have also seen him as a presenter of Television shows like Big Boss Bangla , Koti Takar Baji , Star of Bengal etc.

Jeet has been the ex-captain of the "Bengal Tigers" in the Celebrity Cricket League .

Ritwick Chakraborty was born on 31 March 1977 in Barrackpore, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Vinci Da (2019), Shabdo (2012) and The Elder Son (2019). He has been married to Aparajita Ghosh Das since 24 April 2011.

Rudranil Ghosh was born on 6 January 1973 in Howrah, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and writer, known for Vinci Da (2019), Kedara (2019) and Byomkesh Bakshi (2010).

Anirban Bhattacharya was born on 7 October 1986 in Midnapore, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and director, known for Ballabhpurer Roopkotha (2022), Shah Jahan Regency (2019) and Bibaho Obhijaan (2019). He has been married to Madhurima Goswami since 26 November 2020.

Saswata started his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majumdar's Kaalpurush. He gained popularity by portraying the character of Topshe in a television series directed by Sandip Ray. His breakthrough role came in Sujoy Ghosh's 2012 blockbuster Hindi film, Kahaani (2012), where he played a simple looking scary contract killer Bob Biswas. The nation went berserk with his portrayal of the villain and comparisons with the iconic Bolly-baddies 'Mogambo' and 'Gabbar Singh' were also drawn. His most notable work includes the role of TV show creator Abhijit Ganguly in the breakout hit thriller Network (2019) directed by Saptaswa Basu

Deepak Adhikari is known for Anokha Modh (1985), Nakash Aziz Feat. Vinit Pawshe & Sana Sultan Khan: Pyaar Di Drift (2021) and Shooting an Elephant (2016).

Dev was born on 25 December 1982 in Mahisha, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Kabir (2018), Mountain of the Moon (2013) and Sanjhbati (2019).

Paran Banerjee was born on 18 October 1940 in Jessore, Bengal Presidency, British India. He is an actor, known for Bob Biswas (2021), Beline (2024) and Double Feluda (2016).

Kaushik Ganguly was born on 4 August 1968 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and writer, known for The Elder Son (2019), The Eunuch and the Flute Player (2017) and Cinemawala (2016). He is married to Churni Ganguly. They have one child.

Jisshu Sengupta was born on 15 March 1977 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is a producer and actor, known for Ek Je Chhilo Raja (2018), Zulfiqar (2016) and Sita Ramam (2022). He has been married to Nilanjana Sharma since 2004. They have two children.

Kaushik Sen was born on 19 September 1968 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is an actor, known for Lion (2016), Aamaar Bhuvan (2002) and Zulfiqar (2016).

Riddhi Sen is known for The Eunuch and the Flute Player (2017), Kahaani (2012) and Feluda (2017).

Shakib Khan is a Bangladeshi film actor. His original name is Masud Rana Shakib Khan. He made his acting debut in the film Anonto Bhalobasha. after few years Khan established himself as one of the most successful and highest paid actor in Bangladesh film history. Throughout his career, Khan has received various awards and acclamations, including two National Film Award for Best Actor In Bhalobaslei Ghor Bandha Jay Na & Khoder Pore Ma.

Vikram Chatterjee is a Bengali film actor. He made his big screen debut with a small role in Mainak Bhowmik's 2012 movie Bedroom and was immediately noticed. In the same year he acted in Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's Elar Char Adhyay based on Rabindranath Tagore's last novel Char Adhyay as a lead. Soon after he acted in Ami Aar Amar Girlfriends, Hoichoi, Britto. He has gained immense popularity from his daily soap Ichchenodi where he played the lead character, Anurag and enjoys a huge fan base, thanks to the success of the show. Vikram has earned a lot of accolades for his film "Shaheb Bibi Golaam", where the whole industry has taken notice of his brilliant portrayal of Zico. In 2013, he participated in the reality show Bigg Boss Bangla as a contestant.

As described by Calcutta Times, he is "Tellyland's" hottest man and 5th among most desirable men in 2017. Vikram has been the heartthrob for many in the recent years and has been loved for many of his performances especially in the recent past.

His recent releases Khoj directed by Arko Ganguly and Meghnad Badh Rahasya directed by Anik Dutta of Bhooter Bhabishyat fame, have been critically acclaimed and successful at the box office as well.

Phagun Bou, a daily soap on star Jalsha where his pair with Oindrila Sen has been loved by the audience has been instrumental in his career too. His web series Tansener Tanpura Part 1 & 2 has been the most watched Bengali web series on the year 2020.

Ankush Hazra was born on 14 February 1989 in Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Villain (2018), Zulfiqar (2016) and Mirza: Part 1 - Joker (2024).

Shataf Figar is known for Extraction (2020), Shershaah (2021) and Gehraiyaan (2022).

Dipankar Dey was born on 5 July 1944 in Jamshedpur, Bihar Province, British India. He is an actor, known for Paroma (1985), Badshahi Angti (2014) and Har Har Byomkesh (2015). He has been married to Dolon Roy since 16 January 2020.