List of Bengalis

This article provides lists of famous and notable Bengali people, from India or Bangladesh, or people with Bengali ancestry.

Actors and actresses

• Abhishek Bachchan अभिषेक बच्चन - Bollywood actor; 1/2 Bengali, 1/4 Kayastha UPite and 1/4 Punjabi; son of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, and husband of Aishwarya Rai
• Jaya Bhaduri जया बच्चन - Bollywood actress; wife of Amitabh Bachchan and mother of Abhishek Bachchan
• Bobita ববিতা - Bangladeshi film actress; most popular actress in Bangladesh
• Rahul Bose - Bollywood actor and rugby player
• Mithun Chakraborty মিঠুন চক্রবর্তী Miţhun Chôkroborti - renowned Bollywood and Bengali film actor
• Soumitra Chatterjee- actor notable works include charulata, Apur Sansar
• Shefali Chowdhury - She plays Harry Potter's Yule Ball date in Goblet of Fire.
• Sumita Devi - Bangladeshi film and television actress
• Raakhee Gulzar - Bollywood actress of 70's & 80s
• Humayun Faridi - popular Bangladeshi drama and film actor
• Konnie Huq - British television presenter.
• Kajol কাজল দেবগন - renowned Bollywood actress, second cousin of Rani Mukerji; won many awards
• Saif Ali Khan - renowned Bollywood actor, son of Sharmila Tagore, half-Bengali and half-Punjabi; won many awards
• Pradeep Kumar - Famous Bollywood actor
• Ashok Kumar - Legendary Bollywood actor, was fondly referred to as "Dadamoni"
• Kishore Kumar - One of Bollywood's greatest singer,actor,music composer and filmmaker
• Uttam Kumar উত্তম কুমার - Bollywood and Bengali film actor; worked with Academy winner Satyajit Ray
• Rani Mukerji রাণী মুখার্জী - renowned Bollywood actress, second cousin of Kajol; currently believed to be the most popular actress in Bollywood; won many awards
• Abdur Razzak - Bangladeshi and Pakistani film actor
• Shabnam - (Jharna Basak) - actress in Bangladeshi and Pakistani films; most popular heroine in the history of Pakistan films industry (Lollywood)
• Aparna Sen অপর্ণা সেন - Bengali film actress; won Padma Shri in 1986; won National Film Award and International Film Festival awards
• Suchitra Sen সুচিত্রা সেন - Bollywood and Bengali film actress; first Indian actress to be awarded an international film festival award
• Sushmita Sen সুশ্মিতা সেন Shushmita Shen - renowned Bollywood actress, India's first Miss Universe
• Raima Sen - Bollywood actress, half-Bengali and half-Tripuri
• Rimi Sen - Bollywood actress
• Riya Sen রিয়া সেন - Bollywood actress, half-Bengali and half-Tripuri
• Swastika Mukherjee - Tollywood actress, daughter of Santu Mukherjeee
• Sharmila Tagore শর্মিলা ঠাকুর - renowned Bollywood and Bengali film actress, head of Indian Film Censor Board; she was chosen as an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
• Lisa Ray - Canadian Bollywood actress and former fashion model; she grew up in Toronto, is the daughter of a Bengali father and a Polish mother.
• Madhabi Mukherjee- actress notable works include charulata, mahanagar
• Ruma Guha Thakurta- actress notable works include Ganashatru; wife of Kishore Kumar
• Konkona Sen Sharma - actress national award winner, daughter of Aparna Sen
• Chinmoy Roy - Renowned Bengali Comedian. Notable works include Basanta Bilap

Artists

• Abanindranath Tagore
• Jamini Roy
• Rashid Choudhury
• SM Sultan
• Zainul Abedin
• Shahabuddin Ahmed
• Ranabi
• Quamrul Hassan
• Ramkinkar Baij
• Nandalal Bose
• Ganesh Pyne
• Anil Kumar Dutta
• Shuvaprasanna
• Paresh Maity

Economists

• Romesh C. Dutt
• Muhammad Yunus মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস Muhammod Iunus - economist, Nobel Laureate, micro-credit pioneer
• Amartya Sen অমর্ত্য সেন Ômorto Kumar Shen - economist, Nobel Laureate

Entrepreneurs

• Jawed Karim - co-founder of YouTube but opted out of full-time involvement and acted as an advisor before the purchase by Google
• Amar Bose অমর গোপাল বসু Ômor Gopal Boshu - founder of Bose Corporation
• Subrato Roy - founder of Sahara India Pariwar
• Bibi Russell বিবি রাসেল founder of Bibi Productions

Filmmakers

• Satyajit Ray সত্যজিৎ রায় - filmmaker, won the Bharat Ratna (The highest civilian award of Government of India) in 1992, won the Academy Honorary Award in 1992 for lifetime achievement and also received the Légion d'honneur award of France
• Ritwik Ghatak ঋত্বিক ঘটক - filmmaker
• Hrishikesh Mukherjee হৃষিকেশ মুখার্জি - filmmaker
• Mrinal Sen মৃনাল সেন Mrinal Shen - filmmaker
• Zahir Raihan জহির রায়হান - filmmaker
• Tapan Sinha film maker
• Aparna Sen film maker
• Rituporno Sengupta film maker
• Shakti Samanta film maker, President of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association for 5 years

Head of major organizations

• Irene Khan, Current Secretary General of human rights organization Amnesty International; she is the first woman, the first Asian, and the first Muslim to hold the position; she won Sydney Peace Prize 2006

Intellectuals and social reformers

• Shri Aurobindo, Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru
• Ram Mohan Roy, রাজা রামমোহন রায় - founder of the Brahmo Samaj
• Roquia Sakhawat Hussain, বেগম রোকেয়া - prolific writer, important Women's right activist and social worker
• Debendranath Tagore দেবেন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর - was an active Brahmo, and was against sati, idol worship
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর - responsible for introducing major reforms in the educational system and was Women's right activist
• Keshub Chunder Sen কেশব চন্দ্র সেন - intellectual and a noted religious reformer
• Sivanath Sastri শিবনাথ শাস্ত্রী - an important intellectual
• Nasreen Pervin Huq, Prominent Women's Rights Activist

Journalists and news reporters

• Matiur Rahman মতিউর রহমান - editor of Daily Prothom Alo, winner of Ramon Magsaysay Award for journalism
• Fareena Alam - named Media Professional of the Year by Islamic Relief and was named Media Professional of the Year at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.
• Prannoy Roy - Founder and President of NDTV - One of India's largest television and media production house
• Mainul Hosein - chairman of the editorial board of the Daily Ittefaq, the largest daily Bengali news publication in Bangladesh
• Harish Chandra Mukherjee - pioneer of nationalistic Hindu journalism and a reformer
• Nina Hossain, - British television news broadcaster

Musicians

• Abhijeet Abhijeet Bhattacharya - Bollywood playback singer; won MTV Life Time Achievement Award and FilmFare Award
• Nikhil Banerjee, sitar player
• Tanmoy Bose, tabla player
• R D Burman Rahul Dev Burman - music composer (half bengali & half tripuri)
• Debu Chaudhuri, Sitar Player
• Manna Dey মান্না দে Manna De - Bollywood playback singer
• Bikram Ghose, percussion player, Grammy award winner
• Hirak Ganguli, braught tabla from accompanist's instrument to a solo classical instrument
• Jnan Prakash Ghosh, legendary Tabla player and lusician
• Shankar Ghosh popularized Tabla deciple of Jnan Ghosh and father of Bikram Ghosh
• Norah Jones - pianist and singer-songwriter, Grammy award winner, daughter of Ravi Shankar, half-sister of Anoushka Shankar, half-Bengali and half-white
• Allauddin Khan
• Ali Akbar Khan
• Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar - one of the all time greatest playback singers for Bollywood
• Vilayat Khan বিলায়েত খাঁ Bilaeet Khã - sitar maestro
• Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay - Also known as Hemant Kumar Bollywood and Tollywood playback singer
• Runa Laila, Bangladeshi singer, equally popular in Bangladesh, India & Pakistan.
• Sabina Yasmin, popular Bangladeshi playback singer. Also popular in West Bengal, India
• Ruma Guha Thakurta- founder and lead singer of Calcutta Youth Choir. Also popular playback singer
• Sanjaya Malakar is an American born Bengali and Italian descent singer who was a Top 7 finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.
• Shaan Shantanu Mukherjee - Bollywood playback and pop singer and host of Zee TV's SA RE GA MA PA
• Manilal Nag Sitar player
• Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu - Bollywood playback singer
• Anoushka Shankar - sitar player and composer, Grammy Award nominee, daughter of Ravi Shankar, half-sister of Norah Jones
• Ravi Shankar রবি শঙ্কর Robi Shôngkor - sitar maestro, Grammy Award winner, father of Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar
• Abbas Uddin, folk singer

Political figures

• Ghulam Azam গোলাম আযম - Former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh
• Muhammad Ali Bogra, - Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1953 until 1955
• Subhas Chandra Bose সুভাষ চন্দ্র বসু Shubhash Chôndro Boshu - co-founder Indian National Army, Head of State and President of India
• A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury - well known politician and senior leader of Indian National Congress party
• Chittaranjan Das চিত্তরঞ্জন দাস - Major figure in the Indian independence movement also known as Deshabandhu.
• A. K. Fazlul Huq - আবুল কাসেম ফজলুল হক - Presented the Lahore Resolution of 1940 that established Muslim League's demand for a homeland for Muslims, Pakistan
• Iskander Mirza - the first President of Pakistan
• Shyama Prasad Mukherjee শ্যামা প্রসাদ মুখার্জী - Founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh which reformed to form the famous Bharatiya Janata Party; the godfather of modern Hindutva and Hindu Nationalism
• Khawaja Nazimuddin খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন - second Governor-General of Pakistan, and the second Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Bipin Chandra Pal বিপিন চন্দ্র পাল - One of three extremist patriots of the Indian National Congress during Indian independence movement
• Sheikh Mujibur Rahman শেখ মুজিবর রহমান Shekh Mujibur Rôhman - Founding Father of Bangladesh; first President of Bangladesh
• Ziaur Rahman জিয়াউর রহমান Ziaur Rôhman - Founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981; first to propose the creation of SAARC
• Khwaja Salimullah - founder of Muslim League
• Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy - Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 until 1957; founder of Awami League

Sportspersons

• Saurav Ganguly - Cricketer: most successful cricket captain of Indian cricket team and led India to the World Cup 2003 Finals.
• Brojen Das ব্রজেন দাস)- Swimmer: first Asian to swim across the English Channel and the first person to cross it four times
• Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, athletics: Double gold-medallist in track at Asian games, was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Padma Shri award
• Aftab Ahmed Chowdhuryআফতাব আহমেদ চৌধুরী - Cricketer: Widely judged to be one of Bangladesh's best batsmen
• Rani Hamid রাণী হামিদ) - Chess player: was awarded the FIDE Woman International Master (WIM) title in 1985 and won British Women's Championship (1983, 1985, 1989)
• Mihir Sen, Swimmer: First Indian to swim across the English Channel in 1958.
• Arati Saha, Swimmer: First Asian woman to swim English Channel in 1959.
• Dibyendu Barua, Chess: Indian chess grandmaster
• Pankaj Roy, Cricketer: top Indian cricketer, holder of a world record opening partnership with Vinnu Mankad.
• Arun Lal, Cricketer: top Indian cricketer
• Mohammad Rafique মোহাম্মদ রফিক - Cricketer: One of the Bangladesh's most senior and best players
• Pradip Kumar Banerjee প্রদীপ কুমার ব্যানার্জি - Footballer: was named Indian Footballer of the 20th Century by FIFA and received the Padma Shri Award in 1990
• Mouma Das, Renowned TT player.Won many awards.
• Poulami Ghatak,TT player of national repute
• Mantu Ghose, Renowned TT player.Won many awards.
• Shailen Manna, Renowned Football player. Indian Footballer of the last century.Played in the olympic also.
• Gostho Pal, Great Footballer.Member of the 1st indian Team(MohunBagan)those who won the IFA shield against a British team in the pre independence period.Led the Mohunbagan Club successfully.

Religious figures

• Atiśa Dipamkara Shrijnana, অতীশ দীপঙ্কর শ্রীজ্ঞান - Buddhist teacher: Important figure in the Tibetan Buddhist in tradition and in establishment and was inventor of bodhichitta or known as "mind training"
• Tilopa, Buddhist teacher: Important figure in the Tibetan Buddhist; founder of the Kagyu lineage and progressor of Mahamudra method
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu চৈতন্য মহাপ্রভূ Choitonno Môhaprobhu - Hindu monk and social reformer
• Ramakrishna Paramahamsa রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস Ramkrishno Pôromôhongsho - Hindu saint
• Swami Vivekananda স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ Shami Bibekanondo - Hindu monk and social reformer
• A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada - founder of ISKCON
• Paramahansa Yogananda পরমহংস যোগানন্দ Pôromôhongsho Joganondo - monk and exponent of Kriya Yoga
• Sri Anandamoyi Ma, আনন্দময়ী মা) - Spiritual teacher and Guru
• Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji - Hindu Saint
• Baba Lokenath Brahmachari - Hindu saint and philosopher
• Khan Jahan Ali, খান জাহান আলী - considered Muslim saint, built the great Bagerhat Shat Gambuj Masjid (60 dome mosque)

Scientists & Engineers

• Abul Hussam - Chemist: Inventor of Sono arsenic filter and the gold winner of the 2007 Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability

• Mani Lal Bhaumik ব্রজেন দাস - Physicist: helped develop the first excimer laser at the University of California
• Amar Bose অমর গোপাল বসু - Inventor, founder of Bose Corporation
• Jagdish Chandra Bose জগদীশ চন্দ্র বসু} Physicist, radio and wireless transmittion pioneer, invented the radio before Marconi. Also did substantial work on botany.
• Satyendra Nath Bose সত্যেন্দ্র নাথ বসু)- Physicist, founded Bose–Einstein statistics, which helped to produce Bose-Einstein condensate (2001 Nobel Prize in Physics was given for this discovery); Boson, a study of Elementary particle, is named to honor him
• Upendranath Brahmachari - Biologist: synthesized Urea Stibamine (carbostibamide) and used it in the treatment of Kala-azar (leishmaniasis), was a nominee for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• Dilip Mahalanabis - Biologist: under his leadership International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh medical centre, discovered Oral rehydration therapy, which saved more than 40 millions lives from Diarrhoea
• Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis প্রশান্ত চন্দ্র মহলানবিস) - Statistician: Inventor of Mahalanobis Distance and and did pioneering work on anthropometric
• Fazlur Khan ফজলুর রহমান খান - One of the foremost structural engineers of the 20th century: Structural engineer and designer of Sears Tower, the tallest building in the USA
• Jamal Nazrul Islam - famous physicist and mathematician
• Sisir Kumar Mitra শিশির কুমার মিত্র - Physicist: pioneer in the investigations of ionosphere and worked with Marie Curie, was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society and Mitra crater on the Moon is named after him
• Subhash Mukhopadhyay সুভাষ মুখোপাধ্যায় - Physicist: became the first physician in India and second in the world to perform the In vitro fertilization
• Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, অমল কুমার রায়চৌধুরী - Physicist: well known for his contributions to relativistic cosmology produced the famous Raychaudhuri's equation, a key ingredient for other major scientific concepts
• Prafulla Chandra Roy bn:প্রফুল্ল চন্দ্র রায়- Pioneer in the field of pharmaceutical and chemical works (discovered mercurons nitrite)
• Meghnad Saha মেঘনাদ সাহা - Physicist, produced the famous equation "Thermo-Ionization Equation" or the Saha Equation
• Ashoke Sen - Physicist: well known for his contributions to string theory and co-discovered S-duality

Writers

• Banaphool - pen name of Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay.
• Rabindranath Tagore রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর Robindronath Ţhakur - Nobel laureate; considered the most important Bengali writer, he wrote the national anthem of India and Bangladesh
• Kazi Nazrul Islam কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম Kazi Nozrul Islam - Rebel Poet of British India, National Poet of Bangladesh
• Humayun Ahmed, হুমায়ূন আহমেদ, writer, novelist, filmmaker
• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay বঙ্কিম চন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় Bongkim Chôndro Chôţţopaddhae - novelist and essayist, credited for the first Indian novel
• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay শরত্চন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় Shôrot Chôndro Chôţţopaddhae - novelist
• Nirad C. Chaudhuri নীরদ চন্দ্র চৌধুরী Nirod Chôndro Choudhuri - Victorian scholar, Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Mahasweta Devi মহাস্বেতা দেবী Môhashsheta Debi - author, social activist
• Romesh Chunder Dutt
• Sunil Gangopadhyay সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায় Shunil Gônggopaddhae - poet, novelist
• Mir Mosharraf Hossain মীর মোশাররফ হোসেন - novelist
• Jhumpa Lahiri ঝুম্পা লাহিড়ী Jhumpa Lahiŗi - writer
• Amitav Ghosh - Omitabho Ghosh - writer and historian, most famous for his novels 'The Hungry Tide' & 'Glass Palace'
• Dhan Gopal Mukerji ধান গোপাল মুখোপাধ্যায় Dhan Gopal Mukhopaddhae - author
• Subhas Mukhopadhyay সুভাষ মুখোপাধ্যায় Shubhash Mukhopaddhae - poet
• Shamsur Rahman শামসুর রাহমান Shamsur Rôhman - poet
• Arundhati Roy Orundhoti Roy - novelist, writer and activist, Bengali father
• Al Mahmud আল মাহমুদ - poet, novelist
• Alaol আলাওল - one of the most talented medieval poets
• Muhammad Zafar Iqbal - science fiction writer
• Michael Madhusudan Dutt মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত - poet and dramatist

Notable people with a Bengali link

• Amar Bose is the chairman and founder of Bose Corporation. A Bengali Indian American electrical engineer, he was listed on the 2006 Forbes 400 with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
• Bipasha Basu - popular Bollywood actress; won the Ford Supermodel of the World (contest) at age 17.
• Rani Mukherjee - Number 1 Bollywood actress
• Dia Mirza - Bollywood actress, half-Bengali and half-German
• Abhishek Bachchan - Bollywood actor, half Bengali
• Saif Ali Khan - Bollywood actor, half Bengali
• George Orwell - Anglo-Indian (part-Bengali [1]), famous British novellist, author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Russell Peters - Anglo-Indian, popular comedian; originally from Calcutta, he noted that he has many blood relatives currently in Calcutta [2]
• Salim Mansur - Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario Canada.

See also

• List of Bangladeshis
• List of people from West Bengal