Shantanu Biswas was a Bangladeshi dramatist, playwright, stage director, singer-songwriter and composer. He has written and directed severel full-length plays between 1975 and 2019, where he performed as an actor in more than sixteen plays. His major successes include Informer, and Julius Ceasar er Shesh Shaat Din . Born in Chittagong, Biswas spent his whole life in the port city, where he struggled to establish himself as a draamtist and musician. He has released five solo and two mixed albums. He made his debut albumChirkut in 2009. His last solo Sritir Shohore was released posthumously in 2019 by G-Series. His music as blended with modern poetry, and lyrics with diverse tunes covering different genres of world music.
Biswas had an interest in drama and theatre from his young age. He got his start in theatre as an actor; later on, he began his career as an original playwright, director, and translating foreign plays into Bengali, most of which he also directed. In 1974, Biswas worked with the theatre group Gonayon and later with Angon in 1976. Kalo Golaper Desh is the first play written by him. Then he wrote Doptori Raj Dawptore and Nobojonmo. In 1982, he started his theatre group, Kal Purush Natto Shomproday. His prominent plays include Informer, which was staged internationally and adapted by multiple other groups, as well as Julius Ceasar er Shesh Shaat Din in 1987. Biswas translated several foreign plays into Bengali, such as Manush O Niyoti from the original play by George Bernard Shaw, Matri Chorit original play by Alan Ayckbourn, Prarthi translated from original play Applicant by Harold Pinter and Khola Hawa original play by N. F. Simpson. He was also the editor of a theatre magazine, Proscenium, since 1983.
Music career
Biswas's first album, Jhinuk Jhinuk Mon, was released in 2007 from Impress Audio Vision Ltd. It was a mixed album with fellow Bangladeshi singer Arunima Islam. In 2008, he released a second mixed album, Bawhoman, along with Bappa Mazumder. Biswas released his first solo album, Chirkut in 2009, which attained widespread popularity with its singles "Dekhechi Shada Kalo Shari" and "Chirkute Dekhi Chotto Kore Lekha". His second solo Postman was released on 9 July 2011 from Agniveena. His third solo Khorkuto was released on 29 March 2014 from Agniveena. This album includes 11 tracks where all the lyrics and tunes were composed by Shantanu himself. Bappa Mazumder and Sudipto Saha have coordinated the music of the album. His fourth studio albumShob Tomader Jonno was released in 2015. His fifth and last solo Sritir Shohore was released posthumously on 5 October 2019 by G-Series.
After his death, the Drama Department of the Chittagong University launched a scholarship program dedicated to Biswas, named, "Nattojon Shantanu Biswas Smriti Britti" for students with outstanding academic results in the field of drama and theatre. He has also received several awards, most prominently the Zia Haider Memorial Drama Medal in 2013.
