Harisadhan Dasgupta (1923–1996) was an Indian film director from Calcutta who was most prolific in the 1950s and 1960s. Dasgupta specialized in surveying subjects of fascination to the Bengali public.

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Dasgupta attended the University of Southern California and later the University of California, Los Angeles to study film-making.[1] He studied for a time under Hollywood producer Irving Pichel. Upon completing an apprenticeship, he returned to Calcutta to produce documentaries.

Over a lengthy career, Dasgupta produced many documentaries, long and short. He was best known for his English language documentaries on the Bengali people's situation, including such works as Panchthupi: A Village in West Bengal (1955), Panorama of West Bengal (1961), Glimpses of India (1965), and The Automobile Industry in India (1969).[2] He became most well known for his classic documentary commissioned by Tata Steel, India's largest private corporation, titled Tata: The Story of Steel.[3] As with several of his films, this documentary was scripted by Satyajit Ray. Throughout his career, Dasgupta also worked with several other leading lights involved in Calcutta's film-making renaissance, including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Claude Renoir, Jean Renoir, Ravi Shankar, Chidananda Dasgupta, and Asit Sen.[1] In 1947, Dasgupta co-founded the Calcutta Film Society along with Satyajit Ray, Chidananda Dasgupta, RP Gupta, Bansi Chandragupta and others.[4]

Dasgupta was involved in a highly publicized incident when his wife Sonali left their marriage and their six-year-old son for Italian film director Roberto Rossellini.[5][6][7] Their son Raja later expressed relief when she passed due to their estrangement.[8]

Filmography

• Panchthupi: A Village in West Bengal (1955)
• Panorama of West Bengal (1961)
• Glimpses of India (1965)
• The Automobile Industry in India (1969)
• Tata: The Story of Steel (documentary)

References