Tapas Paul was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen romantic collaboration with Mahua Roychoudhury and Debashree Roy. He received a Filmfare Award. He was a Member of Parliament from Krishnanagar having won in the 2014 Indian General Elections on a Trinamool Congress ticket. He shot to fame and popularity with his debut film Dadar Kirti, a romantic drama by Tarun Majumdar, and sustained his fame with films like Saheb, Parabat Priya, Bhalobasa Bhalobasa, Anurager Choyan, Amar Bandhan, Guru Dakshina to name few. He was awarded the Filmfare Award for his role in Saheb. He made his Bollywood debut in Hiren Nag's Abodh opposite Madhuri Dixit. He collaborated with Tarun Majumdar for the second time in his romantic flick Bhalobasa Bhalobasa where he was paired with Debashree Roy. The film achieved a roaring success and established his pairing with Roy as the most bankable one of the nineteen eighties. His other major hits with Roy include Arpan, Surer Sathi, Surer Akashe, Nayanmani, Chokher Aloy, Shubha Kamana, Mayabini, Tobu Mone Rekho. He collaborated with Buddhadeb Dasgupta in Uttara and Mondo Meyer Upakhyan. He was arrested by C.B.I for alleged link to Rose Valleychit fund scam in December 2016, and was given bail after 13 months. He died on Tuesday, the 18th of February 2020, at 3:35 AM IST, as he was suffering from cardiological disorders, which lastly led to a sudden cardiac arrest.
Paul's first movie appearance was in 1980, in the film Dadar Kirti, directed by Tarun Majumder. He was seated in a train compartment, when he caught attention of Shrinibas Chakraborty, the assistant director of Dadar Kirti. He was then taken to Tarun Majumdar who was at that time looking for a new face for the role Kedar. The film became a huge success at box office. For his role as a naive Kedar, Paul received immense love and appreciation from his audience. Paul collaborated with Tarun Majumdar for the second time in his romantic flick Bhalobasa Bhalobasa where he was paired with Debashree Roy. The film achieved a roaring success and established his pairing with Roy as the most bankable one of the 1980s. His other major hits with Roy include Arpan, Surer Sathi, Surer Akashe, Nayanmani, Chokher Aloy, Shubha Kamana, Mayabini, Tobu Mone Rekho. He collaborated with Buddhadeb Dasgupta in Uttara and Mondo Meyer Upakhyan.
Controversy
On 31 December 2016, Paul was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Ponzi firm Rose Valley Group. He was released after serving a thirteen months sentence. Because of this his health got deteriorated which led to his untimely death. On 11 January 2017, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Babul Supriyo filed a complaint against Paul along with AITC MP Saugata Roy and MLAMahua Moitra for falsely accusing him of being involved in the Rose Valley scam.
Political career
He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. He was an MLA from Alipore for two terms. He was the MP of Krishnanagar since 2009 to 2018. In one of his political campaign at Chowmaha village near Krishnanagar because of his provocative speeches he was condemned by many people of West Bengal.
Personal life
He was married to Nandini Paul. She was a participant of Bigg Boss Bangla of season 2. They had a daughter named Sohini Paul, who is also an actor in Tollywood.
