Bratya Basu Biography 
Bratya Basu is a Bengali artist, professor and politician. He was elected a MLA, from the Dum Dum constituency in 2011 State Assembly Election. He served as Educational Minister for West Bengal till May 2014 and later his portfolio was changed to Tourism Development. He contested in the Trinamool Congress ticket and emerged as the winner. As a theatre personality he directed numerous plays since mid-1990s and started his own theatre group - Bratya jan in 2008, and staged several plays as well.
He was born in Kolkata on September 25, 1969. His father Dr. Bishnu Basu was a great theatre personality while his mother Dr. Neetika Basu was a writer & educational administrator. He completed studies from Presidency College and Calcutta University. Soon after studies he started his professional career as a lecturer at City College, Kolkata. At the same time he got associated with theatre circuit too. He started off as a sound operator for the theater group Ganakrishti. But later he wrote scripts and directed plays as well. The transition was swift and he concentrated on plays with themes chosen from problems of today, rather than relying on old subjects and conflicts of a bygone era. Ashaleen (1996) was his maiden venture as an independent play director. Aranyadeb, Shahar iyar, Chatushkon and Winkle-twinkle just followed it. He set new standards of excellence in writing and direction.
In 2008 he formed the group Bratya jan. RuddhasangIt was one of the noted works staged for the first time in 2009. He directed two Bengali movies – Raastaa and Teesta, and has appeared in a few bangla films as well. Later he entered politics by joining Trinamool Congress and contested in state assembly elections in 2011. After his victory, he became Minister for Higher Education in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
Published: N/A
Updated: December 24, 2015
