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{{Short description|Indian actor and director (1893–1978)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
| image = DG1.jpg
| imagesize =200px
| caption =Dhirendra Nath Ganguly in the movie [[Bilat Ferat]] (1921)
| birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1893|03|26}}
| years_active = 1919 - 1978
| occupation = Actor, Producer, Director
| birth_name =
| birth_place =[[Kolkata]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1978|11|18|1893|03|26}}
| death_place =[[Kolkata]], [[India]]
| othername =Dhiren Ganguly or D.G
| spouses =Premika Devi, Uma Devi
| domesticpartner =
| website =
}}

'''Dhirendra Nath Ganguly''' (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as '''Dhiren Ganguly''' or '''D.G''', was a [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]]-winning and [[Padma Bhushan]] recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali Cinema]]. He had set up a number of film production companies: [[#Indo British Film Company|Indo British Film company]], [[#British Dominion Films|British Dominion Films]], [[#Lotus Film Company|Lotus Film Company]]. Later, he directed films for [[New Theatres]]. He produced many movies in the comedy genre. He was born in [[Calcutta]] and died in the same city.

==Early life==
Ganguly studied in the [[Visva Bharati University]] in [[Shantiniketan]]. He became a headmaster of State Art School in [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]]. He released a book of photographs of his make-up techniques called ''Bhavki Abhibyakti'' in 1915. He also taught this art to [[Criminal Investigation Department|C.I.D.]] officers in both [[British India]] and independent [[India]]. His family hailed from [[Barisal]].
<ref name="arts">pp 950-951, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ae1Zrmz6ETwC&dq=%22Indo+British+Film+company%22&pg=PA951 Google books preview] from 'Arts of Transitional India Twentieth Century', by Vinayak Purohit, ISBN 0-86132-138-3</ref>

==Career==

===Indo British Film Company===
Ganguly's photography book brought him in contact of [[J. F. Madan]], who agreed to invest in his films.<ref name="arts"/> Ganguly and [[Madan Theatre]]s' manager Nitish Lahiri formed the '''Indo British Film Co''', the first [[film production]] company owned by [[Bengali people|Bengali]]s, in 1918.<ref name="bfja">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |title=History of Bengali Cinema from BFJA Awards website |access-date=14 May 2008 |archive-date=24 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924155956/http://www.bfjaawards.com/legacy/cinema.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Bilat Ferat (1921 film)|Bilat Ferat (1921)]]'' (''The England Returned''), a silent comedy film directed by Nitish Lahiri, was the first production from this company.<ref name="arts"/> They released another two movies in 1922: ''Yashoda Nandan'' and ''Sadhu Aur Shaitan''.<ref name="bfja"/>

===Lotus Film Company===
Ganguly founded '''Lotus Film Company''' in Hyderabad and also established a film studio and two cinema houses with the help of [[Nizam]]. In 1924, he was a distributor of ''Razia Begum'', a film made in [[Bombay]]. This film portrayed a Muslim princess who fell in love with an Abyssinian slave . This enraged Nizam and he ordered Ganguly to leave Hyderabad.<ref name="arts"/>

===British Dominion Films===
Ganguly returned to Calcuta and eventually formed another film production company '''British Dominion Films'''. Actor [[Pramathesh Barua]] invested in this venture and also acted in a film produced by this company. However, with the arrival [[talkie]]s and new sound technologies, this film company failed.<ref name="arts"/>

===Talkies era===
Ganguly joined Barua Pictures company of Pramathesh Barua. But, soon both of them joined [[B. N. Sircar]]'s [[New Theatres]].

==Recognition==
* D.G. received [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1974.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |accessdate=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archivedate=15 October 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref>
* He received the [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]] in 1975.

==Filmography==

===Director===
* Cartoon (1949)
* Shesh Nibedan (1948)
* Srinkhal (1947)
* Daabi (1943)
* Ahuti (1941)
* Karmakhali (1940)
* Path-Bhule (1940)
* Abhisarika (1938)
* Achin Priya (1938)
* Hal Bangla (1938)
* Country Girl (1936) (Hindi: Dehati Ladki)
* Dwipantar (1936)
* Bidrohi (1935)
* Excuse Me, Sir (1934)
* Halkatha (1934)
* Mastuto Bhai (1934)
* Night Bird (1934)
* Charitraheen (1931)
* Takay Ki Na Hay (1931) (English title: Money Makes What Not)
* Alik Babu (1930) (English title: Master Liar)
* Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
* Bimata (1923) (Hindi title: Bijoy Basant, English title: Stepmother)
* Chintamani (1923)
* The Marriage Tonic (1923)
* Sati Simantini (1923)
* Vijay and Basanta (1923)
* Yayati (1923)
* Yashoda Nandan (1922) (Hindi title: Shri Radha Krishna)
* Hara Gouri (1922)
* Indrajeet (1922)
* Lady Teacher (1922)

===Actor===
* Shesh Nibedan (1948)
* Bondita (1945)
* Hal Bangla (1938)
* Excuse Me, Sir (1934)
* Mastuto Bhai (1934)
* Maraner Pare (1931) (English title: After the Death)
* Takay Ki Na Hay (1931) (English title: Money Makes What Not)
* Panchasar (1930) (English title: Blind God / Five Arrows)
* Alik Babu (1930) (English title: Master Liar)
* Shankaracharya (1927) (English title: Renaissance of Hinduism)
* Yashoda Nandan (1922) (Hindi title: Shri Radha Krishna)
* Lady Teacher (1922)
* Sadhu Aur Shaitan (1922)
* Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)

===Writer===
* Shesh Nibedan (1948) (screenplay)
* Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned) (writer)

===Producer===
* Flames of Flesh (1930) (Bengali title: Kamonar Agun)
* Bilet Pherat (1921) (English title: The England Returned)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0304358|name=Dhirendranath Ganguly}}
* [http://www.banglafilmsonline.com Bangla Films Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044539/http://www.banglafilmsonline.com/ |date=13 September 2017 }}

{{Dadasaheb Phalke Award}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1970–79}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganguly, Dhiren}}
[[Category:Visva-Bharati University alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali film producers]]
[[Category:Bengali male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors in Bengali cinema]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients]]
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Kolkata]]
[[Category:People from Gournadi Upazila]]
[[Category:Male actors from Barisal Division]]
[[Category:Filmmakers from Barisal Division]]
[[Category:Actors from Barisal District]]

Dhirendra Nath Ganguly - Revision history

CleanupBot at 03:50, 22 March 2026