Jisshu Sengupta

Jisshu Sengupta (born Biswaroop Sengupta; 15 March 1977) is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter, who predominantly works in Bengali, Hindi and Telugu films alongside a few Kannada films.

Sengupta made his debut through a Bengali TV series, Mahaprabhu (1998) where he portrayed the role of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; the role gained him much recognition. Subsequently, he made his film debut with Priyojon (1999), which became a debacle at the box office. In 2002, he played Rabindranath Tagore in Sukanta Roy's ambitious venture Chelebela alongside Debashree Roy playing Kadambari Devi. following which he appeared in a spate of critically and commercially unsuccessful projects. He made his Bollywood debut with Shyam Benegal's National Award winning film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004). A turning point came in his career when he collaborated with Rituparno Ghosh for the latter's Abohomaan, which earned him critical acclaim. His subsequent collaborations with Ghosh for films which include Shob Charitro Kalponik and Noukadubi brought him a higher degree of critical and commercial success. Sengupta's collaborations with other directors for films such as Jaatishwar enabled him to become one of the most sought out actors in Bengali cinema.

Sengupta continued to garner wider attention and further critical acclaim for the role of a contract killer in Rajkahini (2015) and a private detective in Byomkesh Bakshi and its sequel Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana (2016). His biggest commercial success came with the action drama film Zulfiqar (2016), as he continued to draw praise for his performances in Sesh Bole Kichu Nei (2014), Jaatishwar (2014), Kelor Kirti (2016), Posto (2017), Ek Je Chhilo Raja (2018) and Mahalaya (2019).

Apart from films, Sengupta is actively involved in anchoring reality shows and award shows, including Filmfare Awards East (2017). In 2011, he made a comeback on television in the fiction category through Aparajito, which he produced for Star Jalsha.

Jisshu Sengupta was born as Biswaroop Sengupta on 15 March 1977 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. He is the son of Ujjwal Sengupta, also an actor in Bengali films. In 2004, he married Nilanjana Sharma, the elder daughter of film actress Anjana Bhowmick. He has two daughters, Sara and Zara.

Sengupta started his career with a teleserial, titled Mahaprabhu, which aired on Doordarshan. He earned critical acclaim for portraying the younger Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the series. After his part ended in the series, he made his silver screen debut through Priyojon, directed by Dinen Sengupta, which was a critical and commercial failure. In 2002, he played Thakur in Sukanta Roy's ambitious venture Chelebela alongside Debashree Roy playing Kadambari Devi. Thereafter, he appeared in a string of critically and commercially unsuccessful ventures, as main lead. He made his debut in Bangla cinema through Moner Majhe Tumi, appearing as a parallel lead, which was the highest-grossing film of Bangladesh in 2003. He went on playing supporting roles in commercial films, namely Abhimanyu, Kurukshetra, Mahaguru, Sangram, Sajani, Guru, Janmadata, Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai and Premi, earning a low degree of success. In 2008, he starred in the romantic-comedy film Love and Bor Asbe Ekhuni. He also made his debut in Bollywood through Shyam Benegal's biographical war film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero.

After appearing in critically and commercially unsuccessful films, he met director Rituparno Ghosh, which made Sengupta put more thought into his choice of films. Under Ghosh's tutelage, he gave some of his critically acclaimed performances in films, including The Last Lear, Shob Choritro Kalponik (2008), Chitrangada, and a betrayed husband in Abohoman. Shob Choritro Kalponik also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali in 2009. The Times of India stated that "Jisshu Sengupta, in the role of a junkie, has delivered one of the finest performances of his career." (in Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish).

Sengupta portrayed the protagonist in Noukadubi, alongside Raima Sen, Riya Sen and Prosenjit Chatterjee in an extended guest appearance.