A Bengali movie director, screenwriter, and actor, Srijit Mukherji rose to prominence after directing the critically and commercially hit film Autograph. After tasting success with his debut movie, he went on to helm films like Baishe Srabon (2011), Hemlock Society (2012), and Mishawr Rawhoshyo (2013), which also got a phenomenal response from the audience. In 2014, he directed National Film Award winning films like Jaatishwar and Chotushkone. For the drama film Chotushkone, Mukherji bagged the National Film Award for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Early Life
Srijit Mukherji did his schooling from Dolna Day School and South Point High School, Kolkata, respectively. For his graduation, he read economics at Presidency College and completed his MA and M Phil in environmental economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. After working as an economist and business analyst in Bangalore and Milan, he left his chosen field to pursue his dream of becoming a director.
Theatre Career
In April 2008, he formed his own troupe, Pandora`s Act, whose first production, Feluda Pherot! was a runaway success and was the first ever non-canonical dramatization of Satyajit Ray`s sleuth Feluda.[2] Barun Chanda, Ray`s leading man in Seemabodhho, and Parambrata Chatterjee, the screen Topshe and film youth icon, starred in this production. In 2009, he wrote, directed and acted in the English play Checkmate, a non-canonical re-interpretation of Byomkesh Bakshi, Saradindu Bandopadhyay`s sleuth.
Movie Career
As a Director
In 2010, Mukherji made his directorial debut with the internationally acclaimed film Autograph, which starred Prosenjit Chatterjee, Nandana Sen, and Indraneil Sengupta in lead roles. The movie was praised by all the quarters, with a record breaking run of 120 days at the Kolkata box office. After premiering at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the movie was also in New York City at the MIAAC (Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council) film festival. He subsequently directed the psychological thriller Baishe Srabon, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, and Abir Chatterjee in important roles. The film opened to a very good response from the audiences and critics alike and was declared one of the top grosser of 2011. He next directed a satirical dark comedy, Hemlock Society, featuring Parambrata Chatterjee, Koel Mallick, and Soumitra Chatterjee.
In 2014, Srijit Mukherji directed two of, what is said to be, his career best films. First one was the musical drama film Jaatishwar, which won four National Awards at India`s 61st National Film Awards. His second release in the same year was drama-thriller film Chotushkone. Starring Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose, Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Parambrata Chatterjee and Payel Sarkar, the movie was a huge hit, critically and won Mukherji his debut National Film Award for Best Director. He then went on to make films like Nirbaak (2015), Rajkahini (2015), and Zulfiqar (2016), which was a Shakespearean gangster saga.
In 2017, Srijit Mukherji made his Hindi movie debut with the period drama film Begum Jaan, which is a remake of his Bengali film Rajkahini. Featuring Vidya Balan in the titular role, the movie is about a brothel owned by her, and how she fights the societal elements to survive. His 2020 release includes Dwitiyo Purush.
As a Lyricist
He has also written lyrics for films like Cross Connection, Le Chakka and Josh, TV serials like Coffee and More and Dadagiri and non-film albums of Usha Uthup. His 2019 releases include Shah Jahan Regency and Gumnaami.