Bibhu Bhattacharya

Bibhu Bhattacharya Biography

Bibhu Bhattacharya was a popular Bengali film and television actor. He spent more than 60 years in the art industry – including cinema and theatre, starting as a child artist in the year 1950 when he was only 4. Macho Mustanaa released in 2012 was his last release. He died on September 22, 2011 of a major heart attack in Kolkata aged 67. He became a household name as Jatayu through Sandip Ray’s Feluda films (1998) based on stories by Satyajit Ray.

He was born on September 17, 1944 in Jharia, Bihar. Bhattacharya never attended any school. Instead he acted as a child artist in many studios during his childhood. Maryada (1950) starring Uttam Kumar marked his onscreen debut when he was only 4. Later he appeared as a child artist in many Bengali movies with the name, Master Bibhu. Very soon he became one of the most prominent child actors in Bengali films. He played lead role in Prahlad (1952) and other noted movies are Bindur Chhele (1952), Dhruba (1953), Rani Rashmoni (1955) and Dui Bon (1955). When he became a teenager, he didn’t get any roles in movies. His last film as a child actor was Sagar Sangame (1959). Then it took 38 long years to get roles in movies. He gained attention through Feluda series in the late 1990’s. Though he was not a part of cinema in this long period, he was active in theater and television serials.

His first film as Jatayu was Bombaiyer Bombete (2003), followed by Kailashey Kelenkari (2007), Tintorettor Jishu (2007) and Gorosthaney Sabdhan (2010) where he reprised the same role of Jatayu. He died one day after the dubbing of Feluda film Royal Bengal Rahasya. Santosh Dutta was regarded as the best fit for the character of Jadayu, though with time, Bibhu too achieved fame through this character.

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Updated: February 10, 2014