Diptendu Pramanick
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Born : 1910 Calcutta Died :1989 Kolkata Residence: New Alipore, Kolkata
Ethnicity: Bengali Home town: Shantipur Children: Subrata Pramanick, Eva Kundu
Diptendu Pramanick (July 1910 – Dec 1989) ( দীপ্তেন্দু প্রামাণিক ) was a bengali film personality from Calcutta. He was the founder secretary of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association [1] in Calcutta, India - a fraternity of film personnel which is an interface between the entertainment industry of eastern India and the Government. During his multifarious career he came in contact with eminent personalities and saw the evolution of this organization from its initial days to being a regionwide entity.
Early life and education
He was born on July 18, 1910 in Calcutta. He was the eldest son of Sudhamoy Pramanick from Shantipur. He did his early schooling in Calcutta and then at Raiganj where his father practised as a lawyer.
In 1926 he returned to Calcutta and cleared Matriculation followed by the Intermediate examinations in Science in 1928. He then joined the Scottish Church College, Calcutta. His interactions with many a revolutionary, the explosive air of the times, and the inspiration from a famous alumni [
Subhas Chandra Bose assaults Oaten, 1916] probably drove him to antagonize an Indian-loathing teacher at Scottish Church College, and follow Bose's suit. He later graduated from Asutosh College, and earned a bachelor's degree in science from the University of Calcutta in 1931.
Career
After leaving college he worked as the Secretary to the then Mayor of Calcutta Sri Santosh Kumar Basu [2]. Out of his literary inclinations, he associated with literary conferences and Bengali literature fora. [3]
The 12th Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan was inaugurated by
Rabindranath Tagore in Calcutta, Dec 1934 (Photo : The Reception Committee was chaired by Ramananda Chatterjee).
On completion of Mr Basu’s term as Mayor he became the Liaison Officer of Civil Defense and in the Publicity Section of the Commercial Museum. In 1942 he moved to the
Home Department of the then Bengal Government as Liaison Officer, Civil Defense.
At this time, Japan had overrun Burma and the threat of bombing was
looming large on Calcutta. Eventually Japanese aircraft bombed
Budge Budge (south of Calcutta).
The bombing led to widespread panic - over a million people fled from
the city and there was a huge pressure on civic authorities to control
the situation. Indian Civil Defence Department expanded at a rapid pace
to counter these threats and planned lighting restrictions, medical
platoons, fire-fighting and rescue units.
[6] At the end of the war, the department was wound down starting 1947.
Subsequently, he tested his skills of entrepreneurship through a venture
(Cine Furnishers Limited) with a couple of friends . It is here that he came in close contact with people of the
Bengali film industry of
Kolkata
It is here that he came in close contact with people of the Bengali film industry of Kolkata.
Enthused with these contacts, he joined an association of producers,
distributors and exhibitors of Bengal (Bengal Motion Pictures
Association) in 1948 as Secretary
[7][8] while Sri
B. N. Sircar was the President. Next year he started the
BMPA journal[9][10] and was the editor
[11][12] for more than two decades.
[13][14][15]
The Association was working on a rented premises at 125, Dharamtolla Street
(now Lenin Sarani)
which was moved to 2, Madan Street, Calcutta. The association grew
under his leadership and moved into 98E Chowringhee Square (now 98E B.N.
Sircar Sarani – EIMPA house - its present location ).
He was the first secretary of the then expanded Eastern India Motion
Picture Association (EIMPA) and was instrumental in opening the EIMPA
offices in
Patna and
Guwahati.
[16] In this period the uncertainties of war led to severe shortage of raw
film stock
in the country. A Film Advisory Committee was formed under the
Government of India, and was given control of raw film stock
distribution.
[17]
EIMPA played an important role as a trade representative, negotiating
materials for the film industry of eastern India and much of Diptendu's
efforts were directed for the same. During his tenure he also served as
the Secretary of
Film Federation of India (1953–1954) [18]. In 1956, Diptendu and other stalwarts like
Satyajit Ray, Robert Hawkins,
Vijaya Mulay and Dasgupta revived the
Calcutta Film Society which witnessed the joining of 300 members.
[19]
 |
| Diptendu seated left in 4th row at CFS 1956 meeting, Robert and Satyajit in 2nd row |
The same team were then the prime movers behind the formation of the
Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) in 1959 which was presided by Satyajit Ray, with Diptendu as the Jt. Treasurer
[20][21][22] during which
Indira Gandhi was a member of the FFSI (till 1964).
[23]
First International Film Festival, 1952
With Frank Capra in 1952, Diptendu Pramanick - 2nd from left
The Films Division of the Government of India sponsored and organized the First International Film Festival of India in 1952. BMPA played a pivotal role in organizing the festival in Calcutta.
Frank Capra, the famous American director flew in [12] and was overwhelmed by the reception he got at Calcutta after visiting Bombay and Delhi. In his autobiography he wrote
" .. Was deluged with garlands ... Bengali people are quite different from the rest of India. They are like the Irish, emotional, sentimental. All riots and revolutions start in Bengal. I can understand it. It took me an hour to leave the airport, what with the crowds and the photographers..." [18]
Here he is seen at the Dum Dum Airport with the who's who of Calcutta Filmdom.
First Film Seminar, 1955
Sangeet Natak Akademi convened the first film seminar at Delhi and it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru [14]. Prominent film personality attended this seminar [15]
Invitation to meet the President - Dr Rajendra Prasad at his residence
Invitation from the Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru to meet at his residence
Twilight years
In the early 1970s, he was still getting nominated to committees
[16][28] - representing the Cinema trade for their infrastructural and legal issues, including the significant
1967-68 and 1973-74 Parliamentary Estimates Committee.
[29]
The elaborate report by the 1973 Committee raised issues about
institutional finances, cess based state funding of cinema, creating a
generation of ‘low-budget’ stars to counter the lopsided economics of a
star-heavy industry and censorship reforms. In that sense the report
anticipated the birth of a generation of stars from the state-driven
FTII in the
Naseeruddin Shah and
Smita Patil era.
[30]
Legacy
Children from many underprivileged families of Dahuka, a remote village in
Bardhaman district, receive school books from the
Diptendu Pramanick Book fund every year, during a ceremony held on the occasion of the
Saraswati Puja.
The Pramanick family
External links
Ashutosh College
Scottish Church College, Calcutta
History of Scottish Church College
Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi
Federation of Film Societies of India
Timeline for Cinematography In India
Film events of 1940s
Village Dahuka in Bardhaman district
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| 1391 views in Nov 2012 ! |
References
- EIMPA official website
- Subhas Chandra Bose assaults Oaten, 1916
- Kolkata Mayors : KMC
- Ramananda Chatterjee:The Modern Review (Calcutta), vol 57 ; The Modern Review Office, Calcutta (1935), page 141.
- Bengali folk rhyme
- Drucquer, Seth (June 1942). Civil Defence in India. Calcutta: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781406758962.
- Screen Year Book & Who's who 1956, Express Newspapers Ltd., Mumbai, page 374
- V. Doraiswamy, V.N. Sharma (ed.). Asian Film Directory & Who's who. p. 255.
- British Film Institute guide
- Erik Barnouw : Indian Film, Columbia University Press, New York (1963), pages 143, 206, 284.
- Centennial Issue : Newspaper Press Directory, volume 100, Benn Brothers Ltd, London (1951), page 502
- Ayyar, K.P.V. (1956). The Indian Press Year Book. Indian Press Publications. p. 343. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- The Indian Press Year Book. Indian Press Publication. 1954. p. 304. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- Newspaper Press Directory, vol 102. Benn Brothers Ltd, London. 1951. p. 625.
- Sur, Ansu (1999). Bengali film directory. Kolkata: Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre. p. vi,280. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- Indian Law
- http://www.dishumdishum.com/BollyPresentation/GLOBALIZATION.PDF
- V. Doraiswamy, V.N. Sharma (editors), 1956 : Asian Film Directory & Who's who, Doraiswamy-Mumbai, page 53
- Cherian, VK (2016). India’s Film Society Movement: The Journey and its Impact. Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd. p. 264. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- http://www.premendra.info/art16.htm accessed at https://web.archive.org/web/20091124180214/http://www.premendra.info/art16.htm on 14 Jan 2012 : published in Chitralipi, Kolkata (May 2006)
- Film Society Movement in India
- FFSI website
- Cherian, V K (October 2016). India’s Film Society Movement: The Journey and its Impact. SAGE.
- Capra at Turner Classic Movies website
- Frank Capra, The name above the title - an Autobiography, Vintage Books, New York, 1985, page 437
- Film & TV guild website
- http://www.lazydesis.com/chai-time/51698-history-indian-cinema.html
- Report of the Enquiry Committee on Film Censorship. Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1969. p. 163.
- Report - Estimates Committee (Volume 5, Issues 56-58 ed.). Parliament Library: Lok Sabha Secretariat. 1973. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- RAJADHYAKSHA, ASHISH (2009). Indian Cinema in the Time of Celluloid From Bollywood to the Emergency (PDF). INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-253-22048-6. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- 2010 Annual report of the Dr S. S. De Education Foundation (Regn# S-196221 1999-2000 : W.B.Societies Act 1961), page 5.
- EIMPA plans Tollywood survival kit, TOI, Jan 3, 2003
- A tryst with money, The Telegraph, June 30, 2013
- EIMPA guidelines required for censorship, TOI, Jul 5, 201
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