Ujaan Ganguly

Ujaan Ganguly
EducationUniversity of Oxford (2021-2022) Jadavpur University Department of English (2016–2021)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford

Jadavpur University Department of English

St. James' School
OccupationActor

Writer

Director
Notable workRosogolla (Actor)

Lokkhi Chhele (Actor)

Kurukshetra (Writer-Director)
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Parents

Ujaan Ganguly is an Indian film and theatre actor, live-action and animation director and writer, music producer, composer, lyricist and musical artist .[1] He is the writer-director of the animated show Kurukshetra on Netflix, which held the No. 1 spot on "Top 10 Shows in India" in Netflix. Ujaan made his debut as an actor in Rosogolla (2018) directed by Pavel[2] and was named as one of the top 10 actors of 2019.[3] He was also adjudged the Best Debut Actor at the Tele Cine Awards and the North American Bengali Conference Film Festival, at Baltimore, 2019.

Personal life

Ujaan is the son of film director Kaushik Ganguly and actress Churni Ganguly.

Education

At St. James' School he was invested as the School Captain. In his 12th Standard, Ujaan represented India at the Modern World Debate hosted at Dubai Modern High School. For his academic performance of 96.25% in Arts he was awarded the Bishop of Calcutta Gold Medal for Academic Excellence in ISC. He also received the honour of Times of India Student of the Year and the prestigious Kalyan Bharti Trust Award for All-Round Excellence at The Telegraph School Awards 2016.[4]

Ujaan is also a Gold Medalist student. He is the recipient of a first class A+ grade Bachelor's degree from Jadavpur University with distinction in English and was awarded the Gold Medal and the Best All-Rounder Graduate and Student of the Year of Jadavpur University in 2019.[5] In 2021, Ujaan went to University of Oxford in World Literatures with the prestigious Ertegun Graduate Scholarship as a member of St Hugh's College.[6] He graduated with a first class Distinction on 23 September 2023, after researching on censorship.

Career

Ujaan Ganguly acted in a musical Smike in 2013 and played the role of a 50-year old school head-master.[7] He made his debut in the big screen in Rosogolla (2018) directed by Pavel. In the film he played the role of Nobin Chandra Das, the creator of Rosogolla.[8] In 2019, he acted in Lokkhi Chele directed by UNESCO Fellini awardee filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly. The film was produced by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. After Rosogolla Ganguly played the lead role in this film as well.[9][10] His character in this film was of Amir Hussain, a young doctor in Purulia district, India.[11] The film release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After his return from Oxford in 2023, Ujaan began his journey as a professional actor-writer. He wrote his first film screenplay and worked as the creative director for Ashukh Bishukh (unreleased), directed by Kaushik Ganguly. Parallelly, Ujaan started writing and directing the Netflix animated series Kurukshetra, based on the Mahabharata which premiered 10 October 2025 on Netflix.[12] Kurukshetra released in two parts, smashing OTT records and garnering praise from audience and critics alike. Times Now wrote that "Ujaan Ganguly delivers an epic saga where mythology meets modern magic."[13] Scroll.in and LiveMint referred to Ujaan's show as a "modern masterpiece", specifically mentioning the unique narrative style, attention to visual metaphors and Ujaan's "Gen Z" directorial vision.

Ujaan is currently making his first live-action feature film, set to release in 2026.

Filmography

Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Film Role Ref
2018 Rosogolla Nobin Chandra Das
2022 Lokkhi Chele Amir Hussain
2025 Kurukshetra Writer-Director
2026 Ashukh Bishukh Writer-Creative Director

Awards and Recognition

Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Project Nomination Award Ref
2018 Rosogolla Best Debut Actor Filmfare East N/A
2018 Rosogolla Most Promising Actor WBFJA No
2018 Rosogolla Best Debut Actor Tele Cine Awards Yes
2018 Rosogolla Best Debut Actor NABC Baltimore Yes
2022 Lokkhi Chele Upcoming Male Vocalist of the Year Mirchi Music Awards Yes

References

  1. ^ "Ujaan Ganguly turns 21 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Here's how Ujaan Ganguly plans to maintain the balance between academic and acting career". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Round Up 2018 – Best performances by Male actors in Bengali cinema in 2018". Bangla Cinema. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Tales of grit, gratitude and green effort". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Chant in JU: 'Not Our Chancellor'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  6. ^ "অক্সফোর্ড পাড়ি কৌশিক-চূর্ণীর পুত্রের, ফেসবুকে সুখবর দিলেন উজান গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়!". News18 Bengali (in Bengali). Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. ^ "On A Sweet Note". Indulge Express. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Ujaan Ganguly on how he became Nabin Chandra Das in 'Rosogolla'". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Kaushik Ganguly to direct his son Ujaan in Lokhhi Chele produced by Shiboprosad and Nandita Roy". Indulge Express.
  10. ^ "'লক্ষ্মী ছেলে' উজানকে বড় পর্দায় আনছেন কৌশিক গাঙ্গুলি, নেপথ্যে শিবু-নন্দিতা". Mahanagar24x7 (in Bengali). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Ujaan speaks on his character in 'Lokkhi Chhele'". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  12. ^ "September Gets Even Bigger: Netflix Marks Foray into Indian Animated Mythology With 'Kurukshetra'" (Press release). Netflix Newsroom. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Kurukshetra Animated Series Review: Ujaan Ganguly Delivers An Epic Saga Where Mythology Meets Modern Magic". Times Now. Retrieved 10 October 2025.