Diptendu Pramanick

This eminent figure of Bengali Cinema passed away on December 15, 1989, in Calcutta, and is survived by son, Subrata and daughter, Eva.

The ‘Diptendu Pramanick Book Fund’ has been named after him and it provides free textbooks to underprivileged school children of the Dahuka village in West Bengal’s Bardhaman district.

Diptendu was born to Bengali advocate Sudhamoy Pramanick and his wife Swarnabala, on July 18, 1910 in Calcutta.

He started pursuing his elementary education from a school in Calcutta, but later moved to the 'Raiganj Coronation School', in the Raiganj municipality of West Bengal. Diptendu came back to Calcutta and passed his Matriculation Examinations in 1926. Two years later he cleared his Intermediate examinations, specializing in Science.

The same year, in 1928, he started attending the 'Scottish Church College' in Calcutta, but left the institution owing to a tiff with a professor. Thereafter, he joined ‘Asutosh College’, and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Science, in 1931.

In 1934, Pramanick was employed as Secretary to Sri Santosh Kumar Basu, who was then the Mayor of Calcutta. The young man was interested in Bengali literature and regularly started attending literary conferences.

He was a part of the reception committee of the 12th ‘Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan’, which was a literary convention held annually. The meet, which happened in 1934, was inaugurated by the famous writer Rabindranath Tagore in Calcutta.

In 1942, Sri Santosh Kumar Basu's term as the Mayor ended, and Diptendu was employed by the Civil Defence as a Liaison Officer. The Civil Defence was responsible for ensuring the safety of civilians during the World War II. Once the World War ended, the department was dissolved, and Diptendu lost his job.

After his stint at the department of Civil Defence, Pramanick set up an enterprise named ‘Cine Furnishers Limited’, along with a few of his friends. It is during this time that he became closely acquainted with eminent personalities of Bengali Cinema.

In 1948, he joined as Secretary at the ‘Bengal Motion Pictures Association’, which included producers and distributors of Bengali Cinema. The Association was headed by ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’ recipient, Sri Birendranath Sircar, an Indian film producer.

Diptendu Pramanick served in various positions and capacities in the film industry throughout his career but is best known for having founded the ‘Eastern India Motion Pictures Association’, an extension of the ‘Bengal Motion Pictures Association’, and served as its secretary for many years.