Nabendu Ghosh (March 27, 1917 –December 15, 2007) was an acclaimed Indian author in Bengali literature, and screenwriter. He has written screenplays of classic Bollywood movies like, Sujata, Bandini, Devdas, Majhli Didi, Abhimaan and Teesri Kasam. He has written stories for movies like Baap Beti, Shatranj, Raja Jani. He has also acted briefly in Do Bigha Zameen, Teesri Kasam and Lukochuri. Later in his career, he directed four movies as well.

Biography

Nabendu Ghosh was born March 27, 1917 in Dhaka (presently in Bangladesh). At the age of 12 he became a popular actor on stage. As an acclaimed dancer in Uday Shankar style, he won several medals between 1939 and 1945. Ghosh lost a government job in 1944 for writing Dak Diye Jaai, set against the Quit India Movement launched by Indian National Congress. The novel catapulted him to fame and he moved to Calcutta in 1945. He soon ranked among the most progressive young writers in Bengali literature.

After partition, Urdu was declared the state language of East Pakistan; thereby banning all Bengali literature and films. It was this political division that prompted Nabendu Ghosh to join Bimal Roy in 1951, when he left New Theatres in Kolkata, to make films for Bombay Talkies. Others in the team who also shifted were Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Paul Mahendra, Kamal Bose and later Salil Chaudhury. After Bimal Roy's death, Ghosh worked extensively with Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Nabendu Ghosh has written on all historical upheavals of 1940s - famine, riots, partition - as well as love. His oeuvre bears the distinct stamp of his outlook towards life. His literary efforts are 'pointing fingers.' There is a multi-coloured variety, a deep empathy for human emotions, mysterious layers of meaning, subtle symbolism, description of unbearable life. Love for humanity is also reflected in his writings. He has to his credit 26 novels and 14 collections of short story. He directed film Trishagni (1988), based on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's historical short story Moru O Sangho.

He died on December 15, 2007, he was survived by two son, amongst which the elder son Shubhankar Ghosh is a filmmaker, while daughter Ratnottama Sengupta, is a noted journalist with the The Times of India. His wife had already died a few years ago. His autobiography, Eka Naukar Jatri was published in March 2008.