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Chhabi Biswas

Chhabi Biswas

Acting

Biography

Chhabi Biswas (Bengali: ছবি বিশ্বাস Chabi Biśbās) (12 July 1900 – 11 June 1962) was an Indian actor, primarily known for his performances in Tapan Sinha's Kabuliwala and Satyajit Ray's films Jalshaghar (The Music Room, 1958), Devi, (The Goddess, 1960) and Kanchenjungha (1962). He is best remembered for his numerous roles as the quintessential aristocratic patriarch, and was himself the scion of a rich and cultured North Kolkata family. He was born on 12 July 1900. His father, Bhupatinath Biswas, was well known for his charitable works. His first name was Sachindranath, but his mother nicknamed her handsome son Chhabi (a beautiful picture!) and the name stuck throughout his life and career. His portrayal of the formidable father figure, though often typecast, yet was powerful and convincing enough to earn both popular and critical accolades. That portrayal was culturally significant, too as in the British Raj, enlightened Bengali used to combined both the hoary tradition and the Anglicised urbanity.

Known For

The Music Room
7.5

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

The Music Room

1958
Raja-Saja
8.5

Trouble ensues when an eccentric but simple-minded villager discovers he is the only living heir of a royal estate.

Raja-Saja

1960
Sabar Uparey
7.0

Shankar was a young lawyer in pursuit of making it big in the professional world. However, his world is turned upside down when he comes to know that his father, who he knew went missing, was in real life spending his lifetime in jail as he was incorrectly accused of murdering a lady named Hemangini. His mother urges him to reinvestigate the case and save his father. He goes to Krishnanagar in search of the people and the pieces of evidence that would help him to prove his father’s innocence. He meets Rita, a young and charming lady who assists him. They fall in love. Shankar faces a lot of roadblocks while trying to collect clues, most of them which were imposed by the actual murderer. However, he solves the mystery in the end and his father is thus released from prison.

Sabar Uparey

1955
Devi
7.5

A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.

Devi

1960
The Philosopher's Stone
6.8

A middle-aged bank clerk happens on a stone with alchemical properties, allowing him to turn steel into gold.

The Philosopher's Stone

1958
Kanchenjungha
7.6

Played out in real time, several complex family dramas intersect in the landscape of the Himalayan foothills, allowing the Bengali auteur to examine the class and generational differences of postcolonial India while celebrating the hopes of a society in transition.

Kanchenjungha

1962
Saheb Bibi Golam
7.0

The film explores the tragic fall of feudalism in Bengal during the British Raj. The title of the movie and the story is a reference to the plot simultaneously exploring a platonic relationship between a beautiful, forlorn wife of an aristocrat and a career-driven clerk.

Saheb Bibi Golam

1956
Headmaster
9.0

The school of a remote and poor village shut down, the head master Krishna Prasanna (Chhabi) migrates to city in search of job. He moves with family, wife Labanya (Karuna), nubile daughter (Ranjana) and very young son. He takes residence with his wife's brother. He meets per chance one of his ex students, of whom he used to take free evening classes and many of whom got merit scholarship and became cream of society, a doctor, a judge, successful lawyer, manager of a big bank and so on. Can he cross the barrier and meet them? All have big bungalows and office with watchmen to stop. If he managed to meet them, will they recall his contribution and help their benefactor? If they do, what change he has to bring in himself? Can he?

Headmaster

1959
Kabuliwala
5.7

Rahmat, a middle-aged fruit seller from Afghanistan, comes to Calcutta to hawk his merchandise and befriends a small Bengali girl called Mini who reminds him of his own daughter back in Afghanistan. One day Rehmat receives news of his daughter’s illness and decides to return to Afghanistan. But before he goes a violent fight with a customer leads to Rehmat killing him. He gets out of prison ten years later. Based on a Rabindranath Tagore story.

Kabuliwala

1957
Gali Theke Rajpath
9.0

Raja was a professional thief who went to jail for a crime. His very close assistant Bhola waited for him and when Raja returned from prison, they started planning a bigger one. One day a family came to their locality. Within a few days, Raja and Bhola became closer to that family. Mala was the only female earning member and she worked in theatre. Raja did not disclose his real identity and tried hard to impress her a lot. In the meantime, a tout Gobardhan nagged Mala a lot to join films. Raja and Bhola gave him a good punishment and saved Mala in several situations. Later Raja tried to cheat a businessperson, but an unavoidable situation changed his life. At last, Mala came to know everything about Raja and accepted him as her partner. Raja also decided to change his life and put his best effort into becoming a good man. He meets Mala and asks her to forgive Raja. Raja once again regains Mala's love and the film ends on a happy note.

Gali Theke Rajpath

1959
Atal Jaler Ahwan
9.0

Shreemonto, who raises his son Jayanta alone, finds solace in his friend Anuradha, but she soon leaves him. Years later, Jayanta falls in love with Anuradha's daughter.

Atal Jaler Ahwan

1962
Trijama
10.0

Swarupa, an introvert, fails to express her love to Kushal, who falls for Nabola, a rich and beautiful woman. However, things take a sharp turn when greedy Nabola leaves him for a wealthier man.

Trijama

1956
The Hungry Stones
7.0

A tax collector posted to a small town puts up at a mansion feared by the locals because it is haunted. As time passes he grows more consumed by the mansion and its air of romance, and the spirits that haunt it, especially a beautiful woman. Adapted from a Rabindranath Tagore story.

The Hungry Stones

1960
Chaowa Pawa
8.0

Rajat, a young man, meets Manju, a rich girl whose father is looking for her. Though Rajat initially slyly tells her father her whereabouts, he ends up falling in love with her.

Chaowa Pawa

1959
Indrani
9.0

Indrani Mukherjee the only daughter of a staunch brahmin in a village studies at Kolkata and stays in a girls' hostel. She meets Sudarshan Dutta, who had a brilliant career as a student and is doing his PhD. They fall in love, and Indrani wants to get married with him as soon as possible. She goes back to her village and informs her father of her intention to get married, Indrani's father takes umbrage as Sudarshan is not a Brahmin and also unemployed. Sudarshan too warns Indrani that he won't be able to provide for her. Indrani marries Sudarshan and is tormented at Sudarshan's house by his mother and sisters in law because of several emotional strains at play. To avoid further complications at home, Indrani gets a job as a teacher in Dinajpur. One day, after a heated exchange between two people that started their journey fiercely loving and trusting one another, Sudarshan leaves Indrani and goes in search of a job elsewhere.

Indrani

1958
Pathey Holo Deri
9.0

Poor but brilliant doctor Jayanta (Uttam Kumar) and Mallika (Suchitra Sen), the grand-daughter of one of the richest men in Darjeeling, fall head over heels in love. Mallika's grandfather is not amused and tries to break up the affair when Jayanta goes abroad to study for a higher degree. Will true love conquer all?

Pathey Holo Deri

1957
Surya Sikha
8.0

Dipto Roy (Uttam Kumar) returns to India after completion of his F.R.C.S. in London. He begins work at a village hospital, is an outstanding and devoted doctor and works hard to improve the hospital. He falls in love with the nurse, Achena (Supriya Devi) and they marry. His plan is that by working together they'll make the hospital well known for its excellence. But after marriage she wants to devote her time to the home and having children. This causes a bitter split between them and they separate.

Surya Sikha

1963
Kar Pape
10.0

A womanizer (Asit Baran) conceals his syphilis and prepares to marry for the second time. Will his first wife be able to stop him?

Kar Pape

1952
Garmil
9.0

Niren Lahiri directs this social-minded melodrama about the complicated relationship between a traditional Hindu family headed by Madhab Thakur (Choudhury) and their progressive next-door neighbor Mukherjee (Chhabi Biswas). Thakur's daughter, Malati (Sheila Haldar), and Mukherjee's son, Robi (Robin Majumdar), run a school teaching traditional Hindu values which they hope will become a countrywide franchise. Their planned nuptials are impeded when Malati's older sister is forced to marry a Brahmin against her will, resulting in a full-scale revolt in both households. Eventually, the rift is settled, the hero and heroine marry, and a sort of Hindu-laden modernity reigns in the two families.

Garmil

1942
The Dawn
8.0

Deeply influenced by leftist ideology, this film dealt with social and political themes: A poor village boy's hazardous experience in a rich urban family.

The Dawn

1955