Paul Bhattacharjee

Early life and career The son of Gautam Bhattacharjee, a member of the Indian Communist Party who had to flee from the country in 1942, and Anne, a woman from a family of Russian descent, he was educated at state schools in Harrow. where he was very involved in their productions (including an early role in The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew in 1974) and began to learn his trade as an actor. An association with Jatinder Verma and his theatre company Tara Arts began in 1979, when he was, according to Verma "passionately idealistic, both artistically and politically" and had the desire "to use theatre to change the world". Bhattacharjee appeared in Yes Memsahib (1979), "the story of the formation of modern East Africa by colonial Indian 'coolie' labour", and Diwali (1980), which he also directed, "the story behind the annual Festival of Lights", among other productions.

Bhattacharjee's first regular television role was in the short-lived soap Albion Market (1985) in which his character was charged by the police for the murder of a racist; which was later shown in a television version on Channel 4.

He had successfully taken over Art Malik's role in the West End run (at the Aldwych Theatre) and had appeared in Murmuring Judges (Royal National Theatre, Bhattacharjee's performance as Hari Hobson in a version of Hobson's Choice. The adaptation of the original Harold Brighouse play by Tanika Gupta, produced at the Young Vic theatre in 2003, transposed the characters to contemporary Salford's Asian business community. In his contemporary review, Billington observed that in the role he "captures both the blazered posturing and alcoholic pathos of the defeated Hobson".

He was cast as Inzamam Ahmed in EastEnders, recurring in the soap opera for two years from 2008,

Bhattacharjee appeared during 2012 as Benedick in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing at the RSC's Courtyard Theatre in Stratford, with Meera Syal as Beatrice. Paul Cavendish, reviewing the production for The Daily Telegraph, thought Bhattacharjee delivered the best performance of the ensemble.

Bankruptcy and death HM Revenue and Customs had successfully petitioned for the actor to be declared insolvent; no other creditors are known. On 10 July 2013, a day after he had been declared bankrupt in the High Court of Justice, Bhattacharjee, aged 53, went missing, According to Michael Billington in July 2013, he "was one of those actors whose" credit in a theatre "programme gave you the reassuring sense that you were in safe hands" and "just one of those actors whom it was always a delight to see". by the coroner of East Sussex.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1992 Wild West Amir 2000 Command Approved Warlord 2005 The Mistress of Spices Mohammed 2006 Casino Royale Hot Room Doctor #1 2010 National Theatre Live: A Disappearing Number Aninda Rao 2011 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Dr. Ghujarapartidar 2014 Honeycomb Lodge Mini's Father (final film role)