Notable Alumni of University of Calcutta [Sorted List]

1. Bimal Roy

1909-1966 (aged 57)

screenwriter film director cinematographer film editor film producer

Bimal Roy was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Devdas, Madhumati, Sujata, Parakh and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema. Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, he made Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). His work is...

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2. Basu Chatterjee

1930-2020 (aged 90)

film producer screenwriter film director

Basu Chatterjee was an Indian film director and screenwriter in Hindi Cinema and Bengali. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he became associated with what came to be known as middle cinema or middle-of-the-road cinema filmmakers, such as Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Bhattacharya, whom he assisted on Teesri Kasam (1966). Like their films, his films dealt with light-hearted stories of middle-class...

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3. Sunil Gangopadhyay

1934-2012 (aged 78)

writer children's writer poet screenwriter

Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly was an Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, and critic. He played a key role in modernizing Bengali poetry and co-founded the 1953 avant-garde poetry magazine Krittibas. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific Bengali writers since Rabindranath Tagore, he has been called "the man who carried the modern consciousness of Bengal."

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4. Nandalal Bose

1882-1966 (aged 84)

painter writer printmaker

Nandalal Bose was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism.

5. Kaushiki Chakrabarty

1980-. (aged 46)

singer

Kaushiki Chakraborty Desikan is an Indian classical vocalist of the Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers pure classical, Khyals, Dadras, Thumris, Bhajans and several other forms of Indian music. She is the recipient of 2005 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in the Asia-Pacific category. She is the daughter of noted Hindustani classical vocalist, Ajoy Chakraborty. Kaushiki is also a...

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6. Mannu Bhandari

1931-2021 (aged 90)

novelist playwright writer

Mannu Bhandari was an Indian author, screenplay writer, teacher, and playwright. Primarily known for her two Hindi novels, Aap Ka Bunty (Your Bunty) and Mahabhoj (Feast), Bhandari also wrote over 150 short stories, several other novels, screenplays for television and film, and adaptations for theatre. She was a pioneer of the Nayi Kahani movement in Hindi literature, which focused on...

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7. Rajatava Dutta

1967-. (aged 59)

actor television actor

Rajatava Dutta is an Indian actor who appears in Bengali, Hindi and English films. He is often regarded as one of the most celebrated and respected Bengali actors of his generation. In a career spanning over three decades, on one hand he has received popularity for playing negative characters in commercially successful films like MLA Fatakeshto, Challenge, Paglu, Boss: Born...

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8. Yukteswar Giri

1855-1936 (aged 81)

astrologer

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri is the monastic name of Priya Nath Karar (also spelled as Priya Nath Karada and Preonath Karar), an Indian monk and yogi, and the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Satyananda Giri. Born in Serampore, West Bengal, Sri Yukteswar was a Kriya yogi, a Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads,...

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9. Salil Chowdhury

1925-1995 (aged 70)

composer actor writer director playwright

Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This includes over 75 Hindi films, 41 Bengali films, 27 Malayalam films, and a few Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese films. His musical ability was widely recognised in...

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10. Keshav Sitaram Thackeray

1885-1973 (aged 88)

writer publisher editor politician

Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, was an Indian social reformer, writer and politician. He campaigned against superstitions, untouchability, child marriage and dowry. He was also a prolific author.

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11. Bishnu Prasad Rabha

1909-1969 (aged 60)

poet songwriter

Bishnu Prasad Rabha was an Indian cultural figure from Assam, known for his contributions in the fields of music, dance, painting, literature as well as political activism. As an advocate of people's cultural movement, he drew heavily from different genres of classical and folk cultural traditions. Considered a doyen of the culture of Assam, the people of Assam affectionately call...

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12. Jatindranath Mukherjee

1879-1915 (aged 36)

revolutionary philosopher

Bagha Jatin or Baghajatin, born Jatindranath Mukherjee ( pronounced [ˈd͡ʒot̪ind̪roˌnatʰ ˈmukʰoˌpaddʰae̯]); 7 December 1879 – 10 September 1915) was an Indian independence activist.

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13. Ranjit Mullick

1944-. (aged 82)

actor

Ranjit Mallick is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, Mallick is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his appearances in both fields of mainstream and parallel films, he is referred to as "Pratibadi Nayak" (Bengali for...

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14. Sandip Ray

1954-. (aged 72)

screenwriter photographer film director

Sandip Ray is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray.

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15. Manik Sarkar

1949-. (aged 77)

politician

Manik Sarkar is an Indian communist politician who served as the Chief Minister of Tripura from March 1998 to March 2018. He is a Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In March 2008, he was sworn in as leader of Left Front, the Tripura coalition government. In assembly elections held in 2013, he became the chief minister...

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16. Ritwik Ghatak

1925-1976 (aged 51)

film producer screenwriter writer composer film actor

Ritwik Kumar Ghatak was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during his lifetime. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality,...

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17. Pritilata Waddedar

1911-1932 (aged 21)

teacher revolutionary

Pritilata Waddedar was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist who was influential in the Indian independence movement. She is often praised as "Bengal's first woman martyr".

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18. Brinda Karat

1947-. (aged 79)

politician

Brinda Karat is an Indian Marxist politician and former member of Rajya Sabha for West Bengal, serving as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) representative from 11 April 2005 to 2011.

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19. Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

1920-1989 (aged 69)

singer lyricist composer

Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, known professionally as Hemanta Mukherjee and Hemant Kumar, was an Indian music director and a playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, along with several other Indian languages, including Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Konkani, Sanskrit and Urdu. He was an artist in Bengali and Hindi film music, Rabindra Sangeet, and various other genres....

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20. Abir Chatterjee

1980-. (aged 46)

actor television actor

Abir Chatterjee is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut in Bengali cinema in 2009 as a lead with Cross Connection. He is well known for appearing as famous detective Byomkesh Bakshi in a separate...

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21. Asima Chatterjee

1917-2006 (aged 89)

writer chemist botanist university teacher

Asima Chatterjee was an Indian organic chemist noted for her work in the fields of organic chemistry and phytomedicine. Her most notable work includes research on vinca alkaloids, the development of anti-epileptic drugs, and development of anti-malarial drugs. She also authored a considerable volume of work on medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first woman to receive...

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22. Victor Banerjee

1946-. (aged 80)

politician film director television actor actor film actor

Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in English, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese language films. He has worked with directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and Montazur Rahman Akbar. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Ghare Baire. He...

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23. Tota Roy Chowdhury

1976-. (aged 50)

actor screenwriter film director

Tota Roy Chowdhury is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Bengali and Hindi cinema. He is also known for his versatile acting performances, fitness, martial arts and dance moves. His notable roles include Feluda in the Hoichoi web series Feludar Goyendagiri based on Satyajit Ray's Feluda series, Chandon Chatterjee in Karan Johar's film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani...

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24. A.K. Fazlul Huq

1873-1962 (aged 89)

politician

Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest-serving prime minister of Bengal during the British Raj. He presented the Lahore Resolution, the foundational document of the Pakistan Movement, for which he is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of Pakistan.

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25. Jeet Ganguly

1977-. (aged 49)

singer music director composer

Jeet Gannguli is an Indian playback singer and composer who works in Hindi and Bengali cinema.

26. Jamini Roy

1887-1972 (aged 85)

painter

Jamini Roy was an Indian painter. He was honoured by the Government of India the award of Padma Bhushan in 1954. He remains one of the most famous pupils of Abanindranath Tagore, another praised Indian artist and instructor. Roy's highly simplified, flattened-out style, and reminiscent of European modern art was influenced by the “bazaar” paintings sold at Indian temples as...

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27. Mrinal Sen

1923-2018 (aged 95)

screenwriter politician film director writer autobiographer

Mrinal Sen was an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and a few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Indian filmmakers, along with his contemporaries Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Tapan Sinha, Sen played a major role in India's parallel cinema movement, which offered a realistic, socially aware counterpoint...

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28. Hrishikesh Mukherjee

1922-2006 (aged 84)

screenwriter director film director film editor film producer

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades, and is named the pioneer of the 'middle cinema' of India. Renowned for his social films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos, Mukherjee...

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29. Srijit Mukherji

1977-. (aged 49)

actor screenwriter film director

Srijit Mukherji is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the limelight. His first feature film Autograph (2010), was a critical and commercial success, where he had written the script with Chatterjee in mind. His fifth film, Jaatishwar, won four national awards at India's...

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30. Sachin Dev Burman

1906-1975 (aged 69)

composer music director singer film score composer

Sachin Dev Burman was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one of the most successful and influential Indian film music composers. Burman composed the soundtracks for over 100 movies, including Bengali films and...

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31. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

1894-1950 (aged 56)

poet teacher writer

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay was an Indian novelist and short story writer in the Bengali language. His best known works are the autobiographical novel Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (Undefeated), Chander Pahar (Mountain of the Moon) and Aranyak (of the forest).

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32. Surya Sen

1894-1934 (aged 40)

revolutionary

Surya Sen, also known as Surya Kumar Sen, was an Indian revolutionary who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. He is best known for leading the Chittagong Armoury Raid in 1930.

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33. Koena Mitra

1984-. (aged 42)

model actor

Koena Mitra is an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented India at Miss Intercontinental 2001 and placed Top 12. She also appears in Hindi films along with Tamil films and Bengali films. She is mostly known for her item numbers and for her appearance as Julie in the movie Apna Sapna Money Money.

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34. Puja Banerjee

1987-. (aged 39)

actor television actor model

Puja Banerjee, also sometimes credited as Pooja Bose or simply Pooja, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Bengali films and Hindi television. She is well known for playing Vrinda in the show Tujh Sang Preet Lagai Sajna, which aired on Star Plus. She participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2014) and Comedy Nights Bachao (2015).

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35. Manna Dey

1919-2013 (aged 94)

composer autobiographer singer film actor

Prabodh Chandra Dey, known professionally as Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. With a strong foundation in classical music, he is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and celebrated vocalists in the Hindi film industry. He is also credited with bringing Indian classical music into mainstream Hindi cinema.

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36. Utpal Dutt

1929-1993 (aged 64)

writer film director actor screenwriter

Utpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little Theatre Group" in 1949. This group enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period now known as the "Epic theatre" period, before it immersed itself completely...

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37. Bidhan Chandra Roy

1882-1962 (aged 80)

politician physician

Bidhan Chandra Roy was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like Salt Lake (now a part of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation), Kalyani, Durgapur and Ashoknagar Kalyangarh.

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38. Rituparna Sengupta

1970-. (aged 56)

actor

Rituparna Sengupta is Indian actress and producer who is known for her work in Bengali, Odia and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She has won a National Award, two Filmfare Awards, four BFJA Awards and four Anandalok Awards.

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39. Lakshmi Mittal

1950-. (aged 76)

entrepreneur businessperson

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is an Indian businessman and steel magnate. He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as chairman of stainless steel manufacturer Aperam. Mittal owns 38 per cent of ArcelorMittal and holds a three per cent stake in EFL Championship football club Queens Park Rangers. Mittal resides in Switzerland and United...

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40. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

1942-. (aged 84)

literary critic university teacher writer philosopher translator

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ( Bengali pronunciation: [ɡajotri t͡ʃɔkɾoborti spiβak]; FBA is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative Literature and Society.

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41. Fatima Jinnah

1893-1967 (aged 74)

writer dentist biographer politician

Fatima Jinnah was a Pakistani politician, stateswoman, author, and activist. She was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan.

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42. Kadambini Ganguly

1862-1923 (aged 61)

politician physician

Kadambini Bose Ganguly was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine alongwith Anandibai Joshi. Both got their degree in Western medicine in 1886. However, she was India's first practicing lady doctor, as Anandibai died soon after receiving the degree. She was India's first practicing female doctor in modern medicine. Ganguly was the first woman to gain admission to Calcutta...

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43. Kamalinee Mukherjee

1984-. (aged 42)

actor

Kamalinee Mukherjee is an Indian actress. She has predominantly appeared in Telugu films as well as a few Malayalam and Tamil films.

44. Tanishk Bagchi

1980-. (aged 46)

composer

Tanishk Bagchi is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Vaaste", "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey" (recreated), "Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "Lut Gaye" (recreated).

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45. Koel Mallick

1982-. (aged 44)

actor

Koel Mallick, known mononymously as Koel, is an Indian actress known for her work primarily in Bengali films. Often referred to as the "Tolly-Queen", she is the recipient numerous accolades, including a Filmfare Awards Bangla, two BFJA Awards, and a Anandalok Puraskar. In 2023, she was honoured with the Mahanayak Samman by the Government of West Bengal.

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46. Paoli Dam

1980-. (aged 46)

actor television actor

Paoli Dam is an Indian actress who started her career with the Bengali television serial Jibon Niye Khela (2003). She then worked in Bengali television serials such as Tithir Atithi and Sonar Harin; the former ran for six years on ETV Bangla. Dam spent her childhood in Kolkata, earning a postgraduate degree in chemistry from Rajabazar Science College. Initially, she...

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47. Soumitra Chatterjee

1935-2020 (aged 85)

actor poet composer writer film actor

Soumitra Chatterjee was an film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet who worked in Bengali cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. He is best known for his collaborations with director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films.

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48. Jyoti Basu

1914-2010 (aged 96)

politician

Jyoti Basu was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was a member of...

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49. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

1893-1972 (aged 79)

university teacher physicist mathematician statistician economist

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FNA, FASc, FRS was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the first Planning Commission of free India. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large-scale...

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50. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

1876-1938 (aged 62)

novelist screenwriter writer

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages. However, his keen powers of observation, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a deep understanding of human psychology (including the "ways and thoughts and languages of women and children"),...

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51. Sanjiv Goenka

1961-. (aged 65)

Sanjiv Goenka is an Indian billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder and chairman of RPSG Group, headquartered in Kolkata. He also owns the IPL cricket team Lucknow Super Giants and the ISL football team Mohun Bagan. As per the Forbes 2022 report, he is the 83rd richest person in India and overall 1238th in the world. He was...

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52. Jagjivan Ram

1908-1986 (aged 78)

politician

Jagjivan Ram, popularly known as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as a minister with various portfolios for over 30 years, making him the longest-serving Union Cabinet minister in Indian history. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India from January to July 1979. He played a pivotal role as the Defence Minister of...

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53. Roopa Ganguly

1966-. (aged 60)

actor television actor politician

Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, politician, and playback singer. She is considered one of the highest-paid television actresses in India during 1980s. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series Mahabharat. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she is known for her versatility and accent adaptation. She...

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54. Madan Mohan Malaviya

1861-1946 (aged 85)

revolutionary freedom fighter journalist poet lawyer

Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian scholar, educational reformer, and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and the founder of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. He was addressed as Pandit, a title of respect. Malaviya is known as the founder of one of the most prestigious university...

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55. Jisshu Sengupta

1977-. (aged 49)

film actor actor television presenter

Jisshu Sengupta is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter, who starts predominantly works in Bengali films alongside a few Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada films.

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56. Mohammad Hamid Ansari

1937-. (aged 89)

diplomat

Mohammad Hamid Ansari is an Indian bureaucrat and retired diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service who served as the vice president of India from 2007 to 2017.

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57. Kamal Nath

1946-. (aged 80)

politician

Kamal Nath is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh from 2018 to 2020 and resigned after a political crisis. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly from March 2020 to April 2022.

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58. Arun Kumar Chatterjee

1926-1980 (aged 54)

film actor film producer film director

Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay, known professionally as Uttam Kumar ( Bengali pronunciation: [ut̪ːɔm kumar]), was an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, composer and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, Kumar dominated Bengali cinema from the 1950s throughout the 1970s, being referred to...

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59. Pritam Chakraborty

1971-. (aged 55)

composer singer

Pritam Chakraborty, also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Film Award winning Indian composer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jingle composer, sound designer & theme music composer for TV serials, and later debuted as a co-composer alongside Jeet Gannguli in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye.

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60. Riya Sen

1981-. (aged 45)

model actor

Riya Sen is an Indian actress and model born into the royal family of Tripura to Bharat Dev Varma and Moon Moon Sen Sen predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Odia films.

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61. Nussrat Jahan

1990-. (aged 36)

model television actor actor politician

Nusrat Jahan Ruhi is an Indian actress, producer and politician who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. Beside the acting career, from 2019 to 2024, Jahan has represented as the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Basirhat constituency as a Trinamool Congress candidate. Jahan's screen debut was in Raj Chakraborty's Shotru.

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62. Jeet

1978-. (aged 48)

actor

Jeetendra Madnani, mononymously known as Jeet, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Bengali cinema. In a career spanning over two decades, Jeet has acted in 57 films and is one of the most commercially successful actors in Bengali cinema, also being amongst the highest paid actors in West Bengal, India. Referred to in the media as...

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63. Prosenjit Chatterjee

1962-. (aged 64)

actor film director

Prosenjit Chatterjee is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playback singer and television personality who works primarily in Bengali cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Jyeshthoputro" (Bengali for "The Eldest Son") and "Mr. Industry", through his career spanning over four decades, Prosenjit is widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential actors in the history of...

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64. Raima Sen

1979-. (aged 47)

actor

Raima Sen, is an Indian film actress who appears mainly in Bengali and Hindi movies. She is known for her roles in films like Chokher Bali, Parineeta, The Japanese Wife, and Baishe Srabon, earning praise for her natural performances.

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65. Antara Biswas

1982-. (aged 44)

model television actor actor film actor

Antara Biswas, known professionally as Monalisa, is an Indian actress who primarily works in Bhojpuri films and Hindi television. She participated as a contestant on Bigg Boss 10 in 2016 and is best known for portraying Mohana Rathod in the supernatural drama Nazar. Monalisa is considered as one of the highest paid Bhojpuri actress.

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66. Leander Paes

1973-. (aged 53)

tennis coach tennis player

Leander Adrian Paes is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-time and holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men's doubles and ten mixed doubles...

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67. Yogeeta Bali

1952-. (aged 74)

actor

Yogeeta Bali is an Indian former Bollywood actress. She was active from the early 1970s to the late 1980s.

68. Sourav Ganguly

1972-. (aged 54)

sports executive cricketer

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, also known as Dada (meaning "elder brother" in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator and former cricketer and captain of the Indian national cricket team. He is popularly called the Maharaja of Indian Cricket. He is regarded as one of India's most successful cricket captains. As captain, he led Indian national team to win the 2002 ICC...

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69. Kumar Sanu

1957-. (aged 69)

singer politician composer film producer musician

Kumar Sanu is an Indian playback singer who gained recognition in Hindi cinema during the 1990s. He is known for his melodious voice and prolific output, recording songs in multiple languages including Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Odia.

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70. Paramahansa Yogananda

1893-1952 (aged 59)

writer autobiographer yogi philosopher

Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yogi, and guru who founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF)/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), a religious meditation and Kriya Yoga organization, to disseminate his teachings. A chief disciple of the yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread yogic teachings to the West. He immigrated...

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71. Mamata Banerjee

1955-. (aged 71)

painter poet politician

Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician who is serving as the current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served multiple times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time in 2011. She is also serving...

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72. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

1920-1975 (aged 55)

writer politician

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he led the country as its president and prime minister from 1972 until his assassination in a coup d'état in 1975.

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73. Pranab Mukherjee

1935-2020 (aged 85)

politician autobiographer

Pranab Kumar Mukherjee was an Indian politician who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of...

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74. Sunil Chhetri

1984-. (aged 42)

association football player

Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. He is the all-time top scorer in ISL history, the fourth-highest international goalscorer, and the most-capped player and all-time top goalscorer of the India national team. He is widely regarded as the greatest Indian football player.

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75. Jaya Bachchan

1948-. (aged 78)

film actor actor politician

Jaya Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party since 2004. Having worked in Hindi films and Bengali films, she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream...

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76. Mithun Chakraborty

1950-. (aged 76)

film actor politician

Mithun Chakraborty is an Indian actor, film producer and entrepreneur and politician. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 350 films, mostly in Hindi and Bengali languages, and a few in Odia, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Punjabi. Referred to as "Mahaguru" (Bengali for "The Great Teacher"), he is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is...

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77. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

1888-1975 (aged 87)

translator university teacher philosopher politician historian

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian academic, philosopher and statesman who served as the Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962 and President of India from 1962 to 1967. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He was also the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and the vice-chancellor of...

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78. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

1888-1970 (aged 82)

university teacher crystallographer physicist

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering. Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflected light changes its wavelength. This phenomenon, a hitherto unknown type of scattering of light, which they called modified scattering...

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79. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao

1920-2023 (aged 103)

mathematician economist statistician university teacher

Prof. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao FRS was an Indian-American mathematician and statistician. He was professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University and research professor at the University at Buffalo. Rao was honoured by numerous colloquia, honorary degrees, and festschrifts and was awarded the US National Medal of Science in 2002. The American Statistical Association has described him as "a living legend" whose...

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80. Moon Moon Sen

1954-. (aged 72)

actor politician

Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen, is an Indian actress and politician, known for her works in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Gujarati films. She eventually starred in Bollywood films. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 television series. She has received Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1987, for her...

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81. Mahasweta Devi

1926-2016 (aged 90)

human rights defender poet writer novelist educator

Mahasweta Devi was an Indian Bengali language writer and activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar. She was a leftist who worked for the rights and empowerment of the tribal people (Lodha and Shabar) of West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India. She was honoured with various literary awards such as...

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82. Radhabinod Pal

1886-1967 (aged 81)

university teacher judge

Radhabinod Pal was an Indian jurist who was a member of the United Nations' International Law Commission from 1952 to 1966. Pal was one of three Asian judges appointed to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the "Tokyo Trials" of Japanese war crimes committed during the Second World War. Among all the judges of the tribunal, he was...

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83. M. J. Akbar

1951-. (aged 75)

blogger journalist politician writer

Mobasher Jawed Akbar is an Indian journalist and politician, who served as the Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs until 17 October 2018. Akbar is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, and was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers by PM Narendra Modi on 5 July 2016. He is also a veteran Indian journalist and author...

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84. Surendranath Banerjee

1848-1925 (aged 77)

freedom fighter politician

Sir Surendranath Banerjee, often known as Rashtraguru (lit. 'Teacher of the Nation') was an Indian nationalist leader during the British Raj. He founded the Indian National Association to bring Hindus and Muslims together for political action. He was also one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress. Unlike Congress, however, Surendranath supported Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, and with many liberal leaders...

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85. Jibanananda Das

1899-1954 (aged 55)

university teacher poet writer

Jibanananda Das was an Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist who wrote in the Bengali language. Often referred to as the Rupashi Banglar Kabi (lit. ''Poet of Beautiful Bengal''), he is regarded as one of the most prominent Bengali poets after Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, although he received limited recognition during his lifetime.

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86. Meghnad Saha

1893-1956 (aged 63)

politician university teacher physicist astrophysicist astronomer

Meghnad Saha was an Indian astrophysicist and politician who helped devise the theory of thermal ionisation. His Saha ionisation equation allowed astronomers to accurately relate the spectral classes of stars to their actual temperatures.

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87. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

1944-2024 (aged 80)

writer translator politician

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was an Indian communist politician, statesman and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011. In a political career over five decades, he became one of the senior leaders of Communist Party of India (Marxist) during his regime.

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88. Ashok Kumar

1963-. (aged 63)

police officer

Ashok Kumar was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first superstar of Indian cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful...

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89. Satyendra Nath Bose

1894-1974 (aged 80)

mathematician physicist university teacher politician

Satyendra Nath Bose FRS, MP was an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics, and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1954 by...

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90. Abhijit Banerjee

1961-. (aged 65)

university teacher economist

Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee is an Indian American economist who is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), an MIT based global research center promoting the use of scientific evidence to inform poverty alleviation strategies. In 2019, Banerjee shared the...

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91. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

1838-1894 (aged 56)

poet writer essayist novelist civil servant

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay CIE was an Indian Bengali novelist, poet, essayist and journalist.

92. Aparna Sen

1945-. (aged 81)

film actor screenwriter film director

Aparna Sen is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards East and thirteen Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. For her contribution in the field of arts, the Government of India honoured her with...

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93. Swami Vivekananda

1863-1902 (aged 39)

philosopher spiritual leader orator writer poet

Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness and elevating Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.

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94. Satyajit Ray

1921-1992 (aged 71)

film producer lyricist film critic painter film editor

Satyajit Ray was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of cinema. He is celebrated for works including The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963), Charulata (1964), and the Goopy–Bagha trilogy...

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95. Rajendra Prasad

1956-. (aged 70)

actor film director politician

Rajendra Prasad was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962 for two terms. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar. A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt...

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96. Kumaran Asan

1873-1924 (aged 51)

poet writer

Mahakavi Kumaran Asan was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry during the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical and his poetry is characterised by its moral and spiritual content, poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation. He is...

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97. Amartya Sen

1933-. (aged 93)

economist writer sociologist university teacher Nobel Prize winner

Amartya Kumar Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, he received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics. He has also made major contributions to social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, decision theory, development economics,...

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98. Subhas Chandra Bose

1897-1945 (aged 48)

writer freedom fighter revolutionary politician

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, antisemitism, and military failure. The honorific 'Netājī' (Hindustani for "Respected Leader") was first applied to Bose in Germany in early...

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99. Mircea Eliade

1907-1986 (aged 79)

diarist ethnographer playwright literary critic novelist

Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and interpreter of religious experience, he established paradigms in religious studies. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane...

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100. Ram Manohar Lohia

1910-1967 (aged 57)

economist freedom fighter politician

Ram Manohar Lohia was an Indian political activist of the Indian independence movement and a socialist politician. As a nationalist, he worked actively to protest against colonialism, raising awareness of the same. He founded multiple socialist political parties and later won elections to the Lok Sabha.

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