From hosting KBC Bangla to playing Mahanayak: Times when Prosenjit Chatterjee mesmerised TV audience with his charisma

Prosenjit Chatterjee turned a year older today (September 30). Birthday wishes are pouring in for the actor who has been ruling Tollywood for decades. He is having a successful inning as an actor. When it comes to acting, Prosenjit is equally eloquent be it a masala movie like ‘Shoshurbari Jindabad’, romantic flick ‘Amar Sangi’ or critically acclaimed ones like ‘Jaatishwar’ or ‘Dosar’ which fetched him a National Award (Special Jury Award). Interestingly, Bumba da didn’t give the small screen a miss. Be it in front of the camera or behind, Prosenjit continued his love affair with TV. Let’s take a look (Photo: Facebook)

Despite tasting success as a movie star, Prosenjit openly talked about his love for the small screen. When many film actors are still a bit hesitant to say yes to television, the ‘Jaatishwar’ continued his tryst with TV. He produced serials, hosted non-fiction shows and featured in a TV series too. (Photo: Facebook)

It was Prosenjit’s performance, charm and enigmatic personality that earned him countless fans. It was his chocolate boy persona which made the female followers go weak in their knees in the initial days of his career. And over the years, the craze remains the same. He oozes charm, elegance that none can deny. No wonder he left the audience mesmerised with his innings on the small screen. (Photo: Facebook)

When the makers wanted to make a Bengali version of KBC, Prosenjit Chatterjee was their first choice as a host. Prosenjit’s eloquence, a charming presence beyond his stardom made him close to the masses. Many contestants took part in the show just to meet him once or click a pic with him. Right before the launch of the show, Prosenjit promised that he will be more Bumba da than a filmstar so that the contestants feel comfortable and he kept his words. His show ‘Banglar Sera Paribar’ was quite popular too. (Photo: Facebook)

Prosenjit starrer mini-TV series ‘Mahanayak’ was launched in 2016. The story was based on Mahanayak Uttam Kumar’s life and had a stellar starcast. Prosenjit played Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Paoli Dam played Sucharita Sen (character based on Suchitra Sen), Mishka Halim essayed Uma Chatterjee (character based on Gauri Chatterjee) while Tanushree Chakraborty as Priya Devi (character based on Supriya Devi) while actress Priyanka Sarkar as Gayatri Chatterjee (character based on Sabitri Chatterjee). The show also had Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Shantilal Mukherjee, Bidipta Chakraborty, Debdut Ghosh and many others. Pronjit’s first look as Uttam Kumar took the social media by storm. (Photo: Facebook)

Launched in 2010, ‘Gaaner Oparey’ has been a trendsetter on Bengali television. It was directed by late director Rituporno Ghosh while Prosenjit produced the show. It brought a breath of fresh air on Bengali TV which was more or less dominated by saas-bahu sagas and mythological shows. From the script, lyrical representation, crisp narrative to the star cast, everything had a special touch. No wonder, the memories of ‘Gaaner Oparey’ is still fresh in the mind of Bengali television viewers. Prosenjit gave break to many new talents like Gourav Chakraborty, Arjun Chakraborty, Mimi Chakraborty and young actors. All of them have already carved their niche in this industry already. (Photo: Facebook)

After quite some time, Prosenjit produced TV show ‘Alaukik Na Laukik’ which again featured a young and fresh cast. The show was based on friends who waged a war against wrong beliefs and superstitions. The revealed the true faces of ‘bhondo babas’ who take advantages of people in crisis and explained every incidents with logic. The TV series featured stalwart Soumitra Chatterjee in one of its stories. It also featured veteran actors Locket Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and many others. Prosenjit himself featured in the last episodes. Though ‘Aloukik Na Loukik’ couldn’t cast its spell on the TRP charts, the concept, starcast, narration and the cinematic effect in a TV show earned a lot of appreciation.