>Sprachraum at 03:06, 7 March 2021

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{{short description|Indian film director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| name = Ajoy Kar
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|3|27|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|1|25|1914|3|27|df=yes}}
| death_place = Calcutta, India
| occupation = [[Cinematographer]], [[film director]]
| yearsactive = 1937-1983
}}

'''Ajoy Kar''' (27 March 1914 – 25 January 1985) was an Indian [[cinematographer]] and [[film director]]. He directed 26 films between 1949 and 1983. His 1961 film ''[[Saptapadi (1961 film)|Saptapadi]]'' was entered into the [[3rd Moscow International Film Festival]].<ref name="Moscow1963">{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1963 |title=3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963) |access-date=25 November 2012 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116210707/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1963 |archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> His 1971 film ''[[Malyadan]]'' won the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali]].

== Early life ==
Ajoy Kar was born on 27 March 1914, in [[Calcutta]], [[British India]]. He left college in 1931 to become a professional photographer, and took up cinematography a few years later.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite book|last1=Editors|last2=Rajadhyaksha|first2=Ashish|last3=Willemen|first3=Paul|title=Encyclopedia of Indian cinema|date=1999|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=London|isbn=1-57958-146-3|page=1824|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF8ABAAAQBAJ&q=indian+film+laboratory+calcutta+ajoy+kar&pg=RA1-PA1824|access-date=16 December 2017}}</ref>

== Career ==
After initially working as an assistant to Jatin Das, Kar became a cinematographer at [[Indrapuri Studio|Indrapuri Studios]], Calcutta, in 1938. Over the next four decades, he shot more than 80 feature films.<ref name="encyclopedia" /> He also shot a number of documentary films.

Kar's first film as director was ''Ananya'' (1949), made by the Sabyasachi collective launched by [[Kanan Devi]]. The first film for which he received individual directorial credit was ''Bamuner Meye'' (1949).<ref name="imdbdirector">{{cite web|title=Ajoy Kar - IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438649/#director|website=IMDb|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref> During the 1950s and early 1960s, he emerged as a key figure in mainstream Bengali cinema, with a string of commercially successful films such as ''[[Shyamali]]'' (1956), ''[[Harano Sur]]'' (1957), ''[[Saptapadi]]'' (1961) and ''[[Saat Pake Bandha (1963 film)|Saat Pake Bandha]]'' (1963). Of these, ''Harano Sur'' and ''Saptapadi'' involved the popular romantic pair of [[Uttam Kumar]] and [[Suchitra Sen]]. These films also received critical acclaim.

From the late 1960s onwards, he made a number of films which were adaptations of well-known literary works, especially those by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and [[Sarat Chandra Chatterjee]]. Some of these are ''[[Parineeta (1969 film)|Parineeta]]'' (1969), ''[[Malyadan]]'', ''Datta'' (1976) and ''Naukadubi'' (1979). In all, he directed 26 films, the last being ''Bishabriksha'' (1983).<ref name="imdbdirector" />

Kar was always concerned about the technical aspects of filmmaking, and went to the USA in 1976 to learn colour film technology.

== Awards and honours ==
* 18th National Film Awards -- ''[[Malyadan]]'' won the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali]].
* 5th National Film Awards -- ''[[Harano Sur]]'' received a Certificate of Merit for 3rd best film in Bengali<ref name="5thNFA">{{cite web|title=5th National Film Awards|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm5thNFAAward.aspx|website=Directorate of Film Festivals|publisher=Government of India|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105753/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm5thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 9th National Film Awards -- ''[[Saptapadi]]'' received a Certificate of Merit for 2nd best film in Bengali<ref name="9thNFA">{{cite web|title=9th National Film Awards|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm9thNFAAward.aspx|website=Directorate of Film Festivals|publisher=Government of India|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202115652/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm9thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=2 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 11th National Film Awards -- ''[[Saat Pake Bandha (1963 film)|Saat Pake Bandha]]'' received a Certificate of Merit for 2nd best film in Bengali<ref name="11thNFA">{{cite web|title=11th National Film Awards|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm11thNFAAward.aspx|website=Directorate of Film Festivals|publisher=Government of India|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170502124428/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm11thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=2 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
* ''[[Jighansa]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Shyamali]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Harano Sur]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Bardidi]]'' (1957)
* ''Khelaghar'' (1959)
* ''[[Saptapadi (1961 film)|Saptapadi]]'' (1961)
* '' [[Saat Pake Bandha (1963 film)|Saat Pake Bandha]] '' (1963)
* ''[[Parineeta (1969 film)|Parineeta]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Malyadan]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Datta (film)|Datta]]'' (1976)
* ''Naukadubi'' (1979)
* ''Bishabriksha'' (1983)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDB name|0438649|Ajoy Kar}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kar, Ajoy}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:Film directors from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Bengali film directors]]

Ajoy Kar - Revision history

>Sprachraum at 03:06, 7 March 2021