Ajitesh Bandopadhyay (30 September 1933 ― 13 October 1983) was an Indian actor, playwright, activist and director. He along with Shambhu Mitra and Utpal Dutt are considered to be the doyens of Bengali theatre of the post-independence era. Before joining Nandikar, he had been in close touch with the IPTA (Indian Peoples' Theatre Association) and was both directing and performing a number of its stage productions. While with Nandikar, Ajitesh along with Rudraprasad Sengupta, Asit Bandopadhyay, and Keya Chakrabarty, staged and performed many successful plays - mostly adaptations of Chekhov, Sophocles, Luigi Pirandello, and such stalwarts; of these, few like Antigone, Teen Poysar Pala (adapted from Three Penny Opera), Manjari Aamer Manjari (adapted from Cherry Orchard) not only drew large audiences but created milestones of success even at the national level. Plays like Bhalomanusher Pala and Sher Afgan met with the same success. As a recognition of his directorial ventures and contribution to theatre, he was honored with the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1976 at the age of 42, one of the youngest recipients of this nationally prestigious award. In the early 1970s, he was described by none other than Sombhu Mitra as the "most powerful performer of the Bengal theatre in current times". In 1977, he left Nandikar and formed his theatrical group Nandimukh through which he continued his stage productions and performances with equal aplomb.
