Victor Banerjee (Bengali pronunciation: [bʱikʈɔɾ bɔnd̪opad̪ʱːae̯]; born 15 October 1946) is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 100 films in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Assamese cinema. He has worked with directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Neame, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Shyam Benegal. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Ghare Baire. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2022 for his contribution to cinema by the Indian Government.
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Personal life
While in Calcutta, Banerjee performed in plays. He also performed during his time in Bombay.
Art aficionado
Banerjee established The Calcutta Art Gallery in the late 1970s. It claims to be the first commercial art gallery in the city.
Film career
In 1984, Banerjee portrayed Dr. Aziz Ahmed in David Lean's film of A Passage to India, bringing him to the attention of western audiences.
He acted in Merchant Ivory Productions Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures, Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari and Ghare Baire and in Mrinal Sen's Mahaprithivi.
He played role of God in the 1988 production of the York Mystery Plays, directed by Steven Pimlott. He was the first Asian to play a lead role in British Theatre.
Awards and nominations
Civilian Awards
2022 — Padma Bhushan — India's third highest civilian award.
Political career
Banerjee unsuccessfully contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election in Calcutta North West from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
As an active member of the BJP, he was critical of Mulayam Singh Yadav's order to shoot the Karsevaks who had once climbed the Babri Masjid prior to its demolition.
He has been highly critical of what he called Navjot Singh Sidhu's pacifist attitude to terrorism exported from Pakistan.
