It was on this 4th April 1898 that, poet, songwriter and dramatist Harindranath Chattopadhyay was born in Hyderabad.
The veteran actor who had a serious career in literature, is remembered for his brief comic roles in Hindi and Bengali films.
Born to an illustrious family, his father was a scientist and mother a singer. His elder sister, Sarojini Naidu, emerged as one of the major leaders of the Indian independence movement.
In 1962, Chattopadhyay made his debut as an actor in the Guru Dutt-produced Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam. He followed the role with cameos in Satyajit Ray’s Bengali films, Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne (1969), Seemabaddha (1971) and Sonar Kella (1972). He struck gold when he was cast in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi (1972).
He was a prolific poet, acknowledged for poems such as Noon and Shaper Shaped. The “Rail Gaadi” song sung by Ashok Kumar in the film Aashirwad was written by him, as well as the song
“My Heart is Beating” in the film Julie.
In the year 1972, the government honoured him with the Padma Vibhushan award The man who never wanted to grow up died in 1990.
News Edit KV Raman
