Kaushik Ganguly

Kaushik Ganguly (born 4 August 1968) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor in Bengali cinema. He has received several awards including six National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards Bangla. Kaushik Ganguly is known for making films that explore various aspects sexuality, like Ushnatar Janye, which deals with a lesbian relationship, and Arekti Premer Golpo (2010), which examines transgender identity & Nagarkirtan (2017), an LGBTQ Movie. In 2019, Film Companion ranked Ridhi Sen's performance in Nagarkirtan which was directed by Ganguly, among 100 Greatest Performances of the decade.

Life Ganguly was born in Kolkata on 4 August 1968. His father was guitarist Sunil Ganguly. He attended Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur and later Jadavpur University where he worked on a degree in Bengali literature. While at university, he started a theatre troupe with his future wife actress Churni Ganguly and Suman Mukhopadhyay (who would later become a film director). In 1987, Ganguly began working as a screenwriter for Tollywood films. He married actress Churni Ganguly in January 1993 They have a son actor Ujaan Ganguly

In 1995, he moved to ETV Bangla to direct telefilms like Ushnatar Janye, Ulka and Aatithi. These telefilms incorporated elements like lesbianism and sex determination that had not been depicted in Bengali television productions before.

Career Kaushik made his directorial debut with Waarish (2004). After his debut, over the years, he has directed more than 15 films and along the way has won several awards. Few of his most notable films include Laptop, which won the National Award for Best Background Music in 2011, Shabdo (2012), which won the National Award for Best Bengali Film and Chotoder Chobi (2015). His 2017 directorial venture includes Chaya O Chobi, a Bengali drama starring Abir Chatterjee, Koel Mallick and Ritwick Chakraborty, Nagarkirtan, an LGBTQ+ movie starring Riddhi Sen and Ritwick Chakraborty. his filmmking craft highly influenced by Gulzar and Rituparno Ghosh.

Filmography

Director

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Notable acting roles

Television Hariharan Ulka Aatithi Shesh Kritya Collage Chhayachhobi Chhadmabeshi (Starring Rudranil Ghosh, Jisshu Sengupta, Srabanti Chatterjee) Diagnosis De-Ray 2003: Ghare O Bairey 2003: Ushnatar Janye 2010: Bandhobi 2010: Bagh Nokh

Screenwriter 2005: Shunyo E Buke 2009: Jackpot 2010: Arekti Premer Golpo 2011: Rang Milanti 2012: Laptop

Awards Ganguly (second from right) receiving the 'ICFT –UNESCO Award' for the film Cinemawala at IFFI 2015Kaushik Ganguly received multiple awards for his role in various films. 2013: IFFI Best Director Award for the film "Apur Panchali" at the 44th International Film Festival of India Year Award edition Film Award 2012 60th National Film Awards Shabdo Best Feature Film in Bengali 2015 63rd National Film Awards Chotoder Chobi Best Film on Other Social Issues 2017 64th National Film Awards Bishorjon Best Feature Film in Bengali 2018 65th National Film Awards Nagarkirtan Special Jury Award (Feature Film) 2021 67th National Film Awards Jyeshthoputro Best Original Screenplay 2024 70th National Film Awards Kaberi Antardhan Best Feature Film in Bengali 2014: Nominated for Best Director for Shabdo in Filmfare Awards East 2014: Winner for Best Film Critic's Choice for Shabdoin Filmfare Awards Bangla 2014 2014: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Kangal Malsat in Filmfare Awards East 2015: IFFI ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal Cinemawala at 46th International Film Festival of India 2019: SAARC film festival 2019 in Colombo - Best Feature Film award for Nagarkirtan 2021: 4th Filmfare Awards Bangla for Best Director for Jyeshthoputro 2024 - 7th Filmfare Awards Bangla Best Supporting Actor for the film Aaro Ek Prithibi 2025 - 8th Filmfare Awards Bangla Best Diagloues - Ajogyo