Latest news with #Biswajit
India.com
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This 32-year-old superstar forcibly kissed 15-year-old actress on set, left her crying and bleeding, laughed it off when told she was..., then..
Actors and actresses from the industry have faced some horrible incidents that made them question their dignity. Some of them stayed but many left at that moment. Here, we are about to discuss the same thing that happened to a veteran actress when she just started her film career. When Biswajit Chatterjee Forcibly Kissed 15-year-old Rekha on sets Yes, you read that the actress we are talking about is none other than Rekha who created an impeccable benchmark in the history of Indian Cinema. But, many of you may not know this but at the age of 15, she was forcibly kissed by her co-star which left her in a state of shock. In 1969, the actress signed Kuljit Pal's Do Shikaari (earlier named as Anjana Safar). In the film, she was paired with 60's Bengali Superstar Biswajit Chatterjee, whose age was 32 at that time while Rekha was 15 years old. In Rekha's published biography she mentioned the incident regarding how lead actor and director planned to shoot a kissing scene without her consent. In this particular scene Biswajit had to showcase his love for her co-star but soon the camera rolled, the actor went on a kissing spree and grabbed her by surprise which made her uncomfortable. However, the director did not cut the shot and continued, leaving Rekha devastated and shocked. After the scene ended, Rekha was left in tears, with her lips bleeding. During that period, this incident came to light and became one of the most sensational topics. Later, during an interview when Biswajit was asked about the tragic incident, he proudly defended it by saying that he only took the director's command for the scene and added that this particular scene was loved by audiences and that is why it felt justified to him. 'Do Shikaari's Fate At The Box Office After the kissing incident, the film went on a delaying spree as Rekha did not agree to return to the set. Somehow the makers managed to complete the film with both the actors and later it was released in 1979 which tanked badly at the box office. Following this incident, Rekha and Biswajit never worked together.
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
When Biswajit, 32, defended forcibly kissing 15-year-old Rekha on set, laughed it off when told she was left in tears
In a day and age where intimacy coordinators are slowly becoming the norm on film sets and boundaries are respected more often than not, 'forcing' an underage actor into an intimate scene with a grown-up man would be a massive scandal, and rightly so. But alas, the 60s were different times. And due to the lack of agency most women had on Hindi film sets, many beloved stars would get away with a lot of transgressions that would get the average Joe reprimanded if not jailed. One such incident was when Biswajit, then 32, forcibly kissed his 15-year-old co-star Rekha and later laughed it off after being called out for it. While the film got stuck with the censors, a few stills from the shoot made their way to the Asian edition of Life magazine. This included a rather titillating shot of Biswajit kissing Rekha. In her autobiography, Rekha: The Untold Story, Rekha claimed that during one of the intimate scenes, Biswajit kissed her without her consent and continued to do so for 5 minutes even as she resisted. The actor added that the entire cast and crew whistled and cheered even as she was traumatised and left in tears. Years later, when Biswajit was asked about this incident at an event, the actor laughed off the controversy, saying the media had made a mountain out of a molehill. He said the kiss was necessary for the story, and he improvised. Biswajit maintained that he had spoken to Rekha after that and maintained cordial relations with her. The film, directed by Kuljit Pal, was stuck with the Censor Board for almost ten years. It was revived in the late 1970s after Rekha became a star. It was retitled Do Shikaari and released in 1979. Even as it also starred Vinod Khanna and Amjad Khan, both of whom had also become big stars by the release, the film found few takers and was a box office disappointment. Rekha and Biswajit never worked together again after this film.
India Today
26-04-2025
- General
- India Today
This Delhi couple left it all to bring football and education to Bengal's tribal kids
In the chaotic newsrooms of Delhi, Biswajit Jha was living what many would call a dream career. As a sports editor in a major media house, he was rubbing shoulders with athletes, writing stories that millions wife, Dr Sanjukta Saha, thrived in her own world too, teaching at a top management college. Yet, the call of home -- the dusty lanes of Mendabari village in West Bengal -- grew louder with each passing knew what it felt like to study without an English teacher, to grow up without proper resources. 'I started learning English on my own when I was in the 9th standard,' he shared. The idea of giving tribal kids a better chance at life wasn't a fleeting thought for him -- it was a promise he carried in his heart for their son was born in 2013, Biswajit and Sanjukta made a decision that would change hundreds of lives. They quit their Delhi jobs and moved back to Bengal, determined to build something lasting for the children of Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and Alipurduar FROM SCRATCHStarting small wasn't a choice -- it was the only option for the couple. A tiny rented room became their classroom. There, they taught English, maths, music, dance, computers -- everything they could manage. The response was slow at first, but word who had dropped out of school returned. Parents, initially sceptical, began to see their children's eyes light up with curiosity and hope. With savings from their Delhi days, they bought a piece of land and built a more permanent school. But this wasn't just about academic scores. 'This school provides not just academic learning but also practical skills that will help children in the future,' said Dr blended traditional wisdom with modern skills, making sure the children stayed connected to their roots while preparing for the wider MORE THAN JUST A GAMEIf there's one thing Biswajit knew from his years as a sports journalist, it was that India's remotest areas hid immense football talent. 'Talents in football are in the remote areas in the country,' he seen young players rise to the national stage, like Manoj Mohammad who now plays for ISL club Hyderabad FC, Biswajit was convinced Mendabari's kids could make it years ago, they started a football academy alongside the school. Today, some of their students are training with top clubs in Kolkata.'Mendabari can be a hot spot for football talents,' he said, and watching these children chase dreams on the field makes that belief stronger every day. WHEN THE VILLAGE CHANGED ITS MINDStarting a school was one thing. Winning over a village was from Delhi, Biswajit initially struggled to bridge the communication gap.'Working in a village you need to have the communication of a common man,' he said. People were suspicious. Why would someone leave a cushy life to work among them? Slowly but surely, trust was the very parents who once hesitated now proudly send their daughters to school instead of marrying them off early. Girls are not just studying but also dancing, singing, and playing football. Mendabari is buzzing with energy it hadn't seen before.'The drop-out rate has reduced. Young girls, who were getting married early, are now studying, playing, learning music and dancing in our school,' Biswajit shared with a quiet ROOTS ALIVEApart from academics and sports, the school weaves in tribal traditions too -- through music, dance, storytelling, and art. Dr Saha believes that preserving culture is just as important as learning coding or maths. Children are learning to be proud of who they are, even as they dream bigger. The school has also brought environmental lessons into its classrooms. Students plant trees, learn about waste management, and even try their hand at organic here isn't trapped in textbooks -- it spills out into the fields, the forests, and their everyday IT FORWARDRunning a free school and football academy needs money. That's where Epic Public School in Cooch Behar comes in. It's a formal school they run under the Rajganj Maa Sarada Shishu Tirtha Charitable Society.'The surplus amount which we collect from Epic Public School, we use it in the school and football academy at Mendabari,' Biswajit explained. It's a smart model -- urban students fund rural TO THE FUTUREThe journey has only just begun. Biswajit dreams of scaling up -- finding corporate sponsors, starting livelihood programmes for the villagers, and replicating Mendabari's success across other tribal villages.'Mendabari is one of the poorest villages in India,' he said, but there's rich potential waiting to be a small room with a few students to a vibrant centre of learning and sports, Biswajit and Sanjukta's journey is a reminder that real change doesn't always start with huge grants or flashy it starts with two people, a bit of savings, and a stubborn belief that things can be in Mendabari, that belief is now growing strong -- one child, one football, and one song at a time. advertisement
