Tapan Bose

In the annals of Indian Cinema, Tapan Bose is known as the pioneer who established the 'agit prop' documentary film genre with his award winning film, An Indian Story (1984), creating a new language for framing the democratic rights story of the blinding of under trial prisoners in Bhagalpur. It transformed the way an independent documentary film was made, viewed and valued in India and abroad. The film was made more enthusiasm than money, and with the vital good-will of friends . His films “opened up a major space for independent documentary filmmaking and for left political aesthetic discourses”. (Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, British Film Institute & Oxford, 1999, pp. 70 and 163).

Among Tapan's many firsts, were his struggles to overcome restrictions and 'bans' which subsequently refined the law in benchmark judgments related to several of his films. Also he co founded Cinemart Foundation in 1977, India's first independent documentary film producer's forum which seeded the work of so many of the country's young film makers. Cinemart was one of the first to make independent documentaries on human rights and democratic rights issues, including An Indian Story (1984). The film was banned. Later it was cleared by the Bombay High Court. It received the President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary in 1985 and was screened and won awards/recognition in festivals all over the world. His other international and national award winning films include Beyond Genocide: Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1986), Behind the Barricades- Punjab (1993), The Vulnerable Road User (1993), Scientific Attitude (1996) and Jharkhand (2003), The Expendable People (2016).

Tapan Bose’s films have been shown by India’s National TV - Doordarshan, Channel 4-UK, Swedish Television II, RAI Italian TV II, NDR of Germany, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Norwegian TV. His documentary films have been screened in several international film Festivals including, Berlin, Oberhausen, Leipzig, London, Nice, Toronto, Oslo and New Delhi.

Tapan Bose 's formidable reputation rests not only on his achievements as a filmmaker, but he is known as one of South Asia's leading human rights activist and institution builders, having established the dynamic South Asia Forum for Human Rights and co-founded the Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy.

He contributes regularly to leading journals and news magazines in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Films by Tapan Bose:

• Santulit Aahar (A Balanced Diet) 1976
• Semurg (1978)
• Jadu Ki Kitab (1979)
• Scientific Attitude (1980)
• An Indian Story (1982)
• Beyond Genocide: Bhopal gas tragedy (1986)
• Behind the Barricades- Punjab (1993)
• Alternative Technology (1996)
• A Matter of Convenience (1998)
• The Vulnerable Road User (1999)
• Jharkhand - the struggle of the Indian Indigenous People (2003) 
• The Expendable People (2016)