Lahiri, Tulsi

Lahiri, Tulsi (1897-1959) playwright and actor, was born in a zamindar family of Naldanga in the district of rangpur. His father was Surendranath Lahiri. After passing BA and BL, Tulsi Lahiri set up as a lawyer in Rangpur and then Kolkata. Lahiri became fairly well known when jamiruddin khan recorded two of his songs. He then joined His Master's Voice and Megaphone as music director. Lahiri gave up the practice of law to act on stage and in films. He was also a film director.

Tulsi Lahiri entered movies during the era of silent films, but was able to make the transition to the talkies successfully. He acted in over fifty movies. He was also a playwright. His plays, Duhkhir Iman (1947) and Chhendatar (1950), based upon the great famine of Bengal and portraying the struggling life of the people of rural Bengal, brought him considerable fame.

His other plays include Mayer Dabi (1941), Pathik (1951), Laksmipriyar Sangsar (1959), Manikavchan, Maya-Kajal, Chorabali, Sarbahara, etc and are largely critiques of capitalism. He also formed an orchestra which gained considerable popularity. [Zillur Rahman John]