Sensitive Indian actor in several films by Satyajit Ray and best known for his finely calibrated performance opposite Judy Davis in David Lean's "A Passage to India" (1984). Banerjee began his career on the Calcutta stage as a child actor and appeared frequently in amateur theatrical productions. After attending university, he was introduced to director Satyajit Ray who, recalling Banerjee's earlier stage work, offered him a part in "The Chess Players" (1977), an uneven historical drama about colonial Indian politics. It was the beginning of a long association in which Banerjee starred in such Ray films as the short "Pikoo's Day" (1981) and "Home and the World" (1984).Though Banerjee began working in Western films with the James Ivory comedy "Hullabaloo Over Georgia and Bonnie's Pictures" (1979) opposite Peggy Ashcroft, it was the pivotal role of Dr. Aziz in "A Passage To India" (1984) that marked a turning point in his career. He next starred in the English comedy "Foreign Body" (1986) as a shy clerk who poses as a London physician, and then was cast by Roman Polanski in his dark comedy "Bitter Moon" (1994) as Mr. Sikh, a benign patriarch who personified family values. Though Banerjee works in the West, he remains active in the Indian film industry, frequently working in Bengali art cinema.
Profession(s):
Actor, director, union official, shipping clerk
Sometimes Credited As:
Victor Banerji
Victor Bannerjee
Victor Bannerji
Evening Standard Award Best Motion Picture Actor "A Passage to India" 1985
National Board of Review Award Best Actor "A Passage to India" 1985
National Award for Acting Best Actor "Home and the World" 1984
National Critics Association Award Best Actor "Pratidan" 1984
1988 US TV debut, "Dadah Is Death"
1984 Was instrumental in forming the first Screen Extras Union in India (later made founding secretary)
1981 Stage directing debut, "An August Requiem"
1979 Debut in a Western produced film, "Hullabaloo Over Georgia and Bonnie's Pictures"
1977 Film acting debut in Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj ke Khilari/The Chess Players"
1951 Made stage debut at age five in "Pirates of Penzance"
Worked for the Pacific & Orient steamship line in Bombay and New York
