Parthapratim DebSpelling according to The Hindu. (or Partha Pratim DebSpelling according to The Times of India.) is an Indian actor, director, playwright, singer and music composer in Bengali theater. He is a member of Nandikar theatre group since 1986 and also runs his own theatre organization, Baghajatin Alaap, since 2005.
After graduation from the University of Calcutta, he joined Nandikar and contributed in multiple capacities to popular productions such as Nana Ronger Din, Amar Priyo Rabindranath, Madhabi, Nachni, and Panchajanya. His long-standing involvement with Nandikar highlights his commitment to the growth and evolution of Bengali theater.
Deb is known for his musical talent, which sets him apart from many of his contemporaries in Bengali theater. He is among the few actors in Bengali theater who have undergone classical vocal training and can sing on stage. A key highlight in his plays is the usage of music, folk songs and dance sequences, a unique trait in Bengali theater.
Deb joined Nandikar as a trainee in 1986. Over the years, he became a theater trainer there. In addition to his work with Nandikar. Deb founded Baghajatin Alaap, where he conducts regular theater workshops. Besides, he has trained actors all over West Bengal and teaches theater to children professionally. Some children's productions he has directed include Gorabubr Swapno, Indian Idol & Swapna Muhurte (written by Debshankar Halder), Tota Kahini, Light of Asia, Monikatha, Wazeb Miyar Biya, and others.
He frequently travels to train Bengali actors and conducts workshops in other countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Sweden, and Oman to train children as well as adult artists in Kolkata and abroad.
Early life and education Parthapratim Deb was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, on November 8, 1963. He completed his school education at the Sanskrit Collegiate School. Following his school education, Deb pursued higher education at the University of Calcutta, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a scholarship from the Department of Culture, Government of India in 1990.
In 1980, Deb undertook training in Rabindra Sangeet under Shri Goutam MItra. After his graduation in 1981, he started taking classes in Hindustani classical music under singer Pandit Sushil Bose, a student of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan in Patiala gharana. Alongside Nandikar, with the foundation of Baghajatin Alaap, Deb along with his wife Rupa, embarked on the creative journey together. Baghajatin Alaap soon increased in number and performed Bengali theatre across India.
Career outside of theater Deb has served as a dramatics teacher of the Shri Shikshayatan School, B.D.Memorial International, Ashok Hall Group of Schools in Kolkata, and the G. D. Birla Memorial School and the Aryaman Vikram Birla Institute of Learning in Uttarakhand.
Publications Deb has published four original plays, including Naachni, Panchajanya, Samparka, and Mufti-e-Azam. These plays are contained in three books named:
নাচনি (Naachni) (, ) is a Bengali play written by Parthapratim Deb that centers around the miserable life of dancing girls in the Indian subcontinent. It was adapted from Subrata Mukhopadhyay's novel Rasik () and premiered in 2013 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata. Naachni tells the story of young girls who are condemned to a life of being sex slaves and entertaining the rich and powerful with their dance performances. The production has a rich collection of songs and dances that depict the gore, guilt, poverty, and sexual exploitation in a system controlled by degenerate men (known as rasiks). Deb directed the play and composed its music as well. Some stalwarts of contemporary Bengali theater such as Rudraprasad Sengupta, Swatilekha Sengupta, Sohini Sengupta, and Debshankar Halder. পাঞ্চজন্য (Panchajanya) (, , ) is a Bengali play written by Parthapratim Deb, named after Panchajanya, a mythological conch of Vishnu that produced the primeval sound of creation. Woven into the storylines of Mausala Parva, Mahaprasthanika Parva, and Harivaṃśa Parva, the play is connects the various episodes of Mahabharata based on the lament of Gandhari – wife of Dhritarashtra and mother to 100 dead sons and her eventual cursing of Krishna. In the play, Gandhari accuses Krishna of leaving the path of Dharma and therefore curses his clan (the Yadavas) to death by in-fighting. The play premiered on 16 June 2016 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata under the banner of the theater group Nandikar. Deb played the role of the old Krishna in its debut performance, where Sohini Sengupta played the role of Gandhari. দুটি নাটক (Duti Natok) সম্পর্ক (Samparka) () is a Bengali play written by Parthapratim Deb that revolves around the lives of three generations of men who face a sudden reality check when their old deeds are come back to haunt them in the middle of a happy reunion to celebrate two birthdays. The play premiered on 5 October, 2018, at the Gyan Mancha in Kolkata. Dulal Lahiri and Shantilal Mukherjee played the lead roles along with Parthapratim's son, Rup Deb. Mufti-e-Azam is a Bengali play revolving around the Battle of Karbala between the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at Karbala, Sawad (modern-day southern Iraq). Inspired from Bishad Shindhu by Mir Mosharraf Hossain, this play is yet to be staged.
Theater
As music director, associate music director, lyricist, playback singer +YearPlayProduction byDirectorPlaywright1988AntigoneNandikarRudraprasad SenguptaChittaranjan GhoshFootballPeter Terson/Rudraprasad SenguptaShesh ShakshatkaarVladlen Dozortsev/Rudraprasad Sengupta1991Ek Theke BaaroGoutam HalderSwatilekha Sengupta1992Sankhapurer SukanyaRudraprasad SenguptaBertolt Brecht/ Rudraprasad Sengupta1994Feriwalar MrityuArthur Miller/ Rudraprasad Sengupta1996Gotroheen1997Nagar KeertanGoutam HalderKoushik Ray Chowdhury/ Goutam Halder1998Brechter KhonjeRudraprasad SenguptaKoushik Ray Chowdhury2000Ei Sahar Ei Samay2003Sojan Badier GhatGoutam HalderJasimuddin2004Wazeb Miyar BiyaSamatatParthapratim Deb2006Nana Ranger DinNandikarRudraprasad SenguptaAnton Chekhov/ Ajitesh BandopadhyayNotun Chele NatoborGoutam HalderSwatilekha SenguptaPadma Nodir MajhiPratikritiAlok DebManik Bandyopadhyay/ Alok Deb2007Jaha ChaiNandikarRudraprasad SenguptaWilliam ShakespearePalashiNatadhaShib Mukhopadhyay2008Aahare Shaishab NandikarParthapratim DebDebshankar HalderAjnatobaasSumanta GangopadhyaySukanta Gangopadhyay2009MadhabiNandikarSwatilekha SenguptaBhisham Sahani/ Swatilekha Sengupta2010Mahabhoj[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim DebRabindranath Tagore/Parthapratim Deb2011Amar Priyo RabindranathNandikarSwatilekha SenguptaKoushik Ray Chowdhury2012Sagina Mahato[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim DebBadal Sircar2013NaachniNandikarSubrata Mukhopadhyay/ Parthapratim Deb2014Parashmoni[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb2015KittankholaSelim Al DeenIndian IdolMirttika, NJ, USADebshankar Halder2017PanchajanyaNandikarSohini SenguptaParthapratim DebLight of AsiaMirttika, NJ, USAParthapratim DebSagina MahatoEpic Actors Workshop, NJ, USABadal Sircar2017Goynar Baksho[Baghajatin Alaap]Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay/ Parthapratim DebShiladityaMirttika, NJ, USAParthapratim Deb2018AranyadebSwapnaluPremangshu RayBratya BasuSagina MahatoBrischik, Seattle, USAParthapratim DebBadal SircarSamparka[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb2019Ranighater BrittantoMrityu Na HotyaSpotlight Ohio, USABibhash ChakrabortyManushNandikarSohini SenguptaAnindita Chakraborty2020AprakashitoBaghajatin AlaapParthapratim DebParthapratim Deb2021Kaaler Mandira2022Padma Nodir MajhiBaghajatin Alaap & Actors of New Jersey, USA at North American Bengali Conference 2022 in Las VegasParthapratim DebParthapratim Deb, Alok Deb (Pratikriti), adapted from Padma Nodir Majhi by Manik Bandyopadhyay2023AgoonBaghajatin AlaapParthapratim DebRakesh GhoshIndian IdolTSS, CanadaParthapratim DebDebshankar HalderMayukh Naame Ekhane Keu Thake NaKathak, Sydney, AustraliaTito RayDibyendu Dasgupta 2024Je Nodi Morupothe[Baghajatin Alaap]Rudrarup MukhopadyayKittonkholahttps://www.baat.us/kittonkhola Kittonkhola by BAAT (Bay Area Amateur Thespians)Bay Area Amateur Thespians, San Francisco, USAParthapratim DebSelim Al Deen2025Jay Jayantihttps://satf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screen-Shot-2025-05-09-at-8.00.56-AM.pngEpic Actors' Workshop, New Jersey, USA at the 20th South Asian Theatre Festival 2025 Parthapratim DebParthapratim Deb, adapted from The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht2026Padma Nodir MajhiBaghajatin AlaapParthapratim DebParthapratim Deb, adapted from Padma Nodir Majhi by Manik Bandyopadhyay
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