By SUNIL SONKER
Mussoorie, 27 Jan: People of Mussoorie are greatly pleased at the announcement of the Padma Bhushan award for famous film actor Victor Banerjee.
Victor Banerjee lives with his wife and family near Lal Tibba here. He spends most of his time in Mussoorie. Banerjee has two daughters. His wife is Maya Banerjee.
State President of the Uttarakhand Taxi Maxi Federation and owner of Bhagirathi Travels, Sundar Singh Panwar said that he has been serving the actor’s family for the last 35 years. His brother-in-law, Dayal Singh Rawat, was the actor’s driver, but is now in ill health. He stays at home but Victor Banerjee and his family constantly look after his well-being.
Victor Banerjee actively participates in social work in Mussoorie, but does not care much for publicity. He has a very simple approach to life.
Actor Victor Banerjee will be honoured with the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order. Victor Banerjee, 75, known for his work in international and Bengali cinema, has acted in Director David Lean’s production ‘A Passage to India’, Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ghare Baire’ and ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, James Ivory’s ‘Hullabaloo Over Georgie & Boney’s Pictures’, and starred in a production by Roman Polanski. Victor Banerjee’s Hindi film credits include ‘Joggers’ Park’, ‘Bhoot’ and ‘Gunday’. He was last seen in the 2020 film, ‘Sanyasi Deshnayok’. He has won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in ‘Ghare Baire’. His performance in ‘A Passage to India’ earned him a BAFTA Awards nomination. Victor Banerjee has worked for notable directors such as Roman Polanski, James Ivory, Sir David Lean, Jerry London, Ronald Nam, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Montazur Rahman Akbar and Ram Gopal Varma.
In 1994, when the Mussoorie police firing took place, in which a police officer and 6 citizens were killed, an article by Banerjee about the Uttarakhand movement was published in the Washington Post. Due to this, the attention of the world was drawn to the movement at the international level.
