Glimpses of Harindranath Chattopadhyay’s Versatility

On Harindranath Chattopadhyay’s death anniversary, a flashback to some of the notable characters he played.

(This article was first published on 23 June 2015. It is being reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark the death anniversary of Harindranath Chattopadhyay.)

You might remember him as the crabby old Daduji in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi, but even just a cursory glance at Harindranath Chattopadhyay’s filmography will show you that he’s much more than that. And it’s not just his versatility as an actor, Harindranath was also a poet, musician, member of the first Lok Sabha from the Vijayawada constituency and not many know that he was also Sarojini Naidu’s younger brother.

Harindranath passed away on 23 June, 1990. On his death anniversary today, we bring you glimpses of some of the varied characters he played in films:

1. Ghari Babu

Who can forget the prophetic tone with which Ghari Babu says, “Waqt ki aawaz sunnn!”. In a short role, Harindranath leaves a lasting impression as a man obsessed with time and has all sorts of clocks around him. He foresees the destruction of the haveli and with it a way of life in the classic Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam.

2. Mr Chadda

In the early 60s, alternate cinema was paving its way among Indian films and The Householder was an example of one such English language film starring Shashi Kapoor and Leela Naidu. Harindranath Chattopadhyay as one of Shashi Kapoor’s colleagues once again scores as an uptight professor who thinks he is way above other professors in the college.

3. Dholakia

Harindranath played Baiju Dholakia in the 1968 film Aashirwad and made an appearance in the song Kanoon ki ek nagri... along with Ashok Kumar. What makes it special is that the song was actually sung by Ashok Kumar and Harindranath too.

4. Borfi

Almost every Bengali must have grown up watching the 1969 Satyajit Ray classic, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. Harindranath makes a memorable appearance in the film as the comic magician Borfi who performs bizarre tricks, including one which involves separating his head from his body!

5. Daduji

The role he is most remembered for is Daduji, in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi starring Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Badhuri. The oldest, eccentric patriarch in the joint family who knows everything but chooses to remain oblivious to the chaos and confusion around him.